Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 47

Principal instrument, how to be ascertained

Section 47 provides that where a transaction is effected by several instruments, the parties may choose which instrument is to be treated as the principal instrument and stamped with the ad valorem duty.

• Where a transaction requires more than one instrument, the parties may decide which one is the principal instrument for stamp duty purposes
• The ad valorem duty is paid on whichever instrument is chosen as the principal instrument
• The principal instrument is normally the one that, if it stood alone, would attract the most duty
• The remaining instruments are chargeable under the residual "conveyance or transfer" head of charge in Schedule 1