Ex gratia relief from additional foreign acquirer duty

Land acquisitions for significant development that are liable for additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD) may be considered for ex gratia relief in certain circumstances.

We may consider ex gratia relief for transactions undertaken by Australian-based foreign corporations or trusts whose commercial activities involve significant development by adding to the supply of housing stock in Queensland, where such development is primarily residential.

See the public ruling on ex gratia relief from AFAD (DA000.15).

There are 2 types of ex gratia approval you can apply for:

• In principle pre-approval—before entering into a transaction, you can apply for an indication of whether ex gratia relief will be granted. You do not need to have applied for in principle pre-approval to apply for ex gratia relief from AFAD for a transaction, because ex gratia relief can only be granted once a transaction has been entered into and assessed, you will still need to apply for final approval.
• Final ex gratia approval (including where a foreign entity has previously obtained in principle pre-approval)—as ex gratia relief can only apply where a liability has arisen, you will need to make an application for ex gratia approval when your transaction occurs, even if you have in principle pre-approval for the transaction. A streamlined process may be used to consider final relief where in principle pre-approval has been given for a transaction.

How to apply

To apply for ex gratia relief from AFAD, lodge a completed application for ex gratia relief from AFAD (Form D4.1) with your supporting documents for either:

• in principle pre-approval
  • draft transaction documents (e.g. draft sale and purchase agreement)
  • supporting information
• final ex gratia approval
  • copy of in principle pre-approval (if applicable)
  • transaction documents (e.g. signed sale and purchase agreement), approved form and other documents required for assessment of duty on the transaction
  • supporting information.

For final ex gratia approval, the liability for transfer duty, landholder duty or corporate trustee duty for a relevant transaction must first be assessed. Transactions related to an ex gratia relief application cannot be assessed by self assessors.

You can lodge your application by:

• Email: AFAD@treasury.qld.gov.au
• or
• Post:
  Principal Investigator
  Complex Assessments Division
  Queensland Revenue Office
  GPO Box 2593
  BRISBANE QLD  4001

If you are also applying for ex gratia relief from the land tax foreign surcharge, we can consider both applications at the same time. You may use the same supporting documentation for both applications.

To ensure that your application is considered within our processing time frames, it is important that you provide all required information.

Processing time frames

For in principle pre-approval, we will process applications within 5–10 business days where all necessary information is received with the application.

The processing time frames for final ex gratia approval align with service standards for assessing standard and complex transactions:

• 10 working days for standard transactions (e.g. transfer and agreements for transfer of land)
• 30 working days for complex transactions (e.g. landholder duty, corporate trustee duty, trust acquisitions, partnerships).

Note that an application for ex gratia relief cannot be finalised before the relevant transaction is assessed for duty.

We will contact you if we need more information to consider your application. This may defer finalisation of your application.

Changes of circumstance

If ex gratia relief is approved and the circumstances on which ex gratia relief was granted have changed, you are required to notify us in writing within 28 days of the change.

Failure to notify is a breach of the ex gratia conditions.

Also consider…

• Read about build-to-rent concessions for land tax and AFAD.
• Read about additional foreign acquirer duty for landholder duty and corporate trustee duty.
• Read the additional foreign acquirer duty provisions in Chapter 4 of the Duties Act 2001.