Hiring duty is chargeable on the hiring of goods by the person who hires out the goods. The duty is payable by reference to the hiring charges. The rate differs between the States and Territories and also depends upon the type of hiring arrangement. For commercial hire businesses, the duty is generally payable by monthly return to the respective revenue authorities.
The calculation of the correct duty to be returned to the revenue offices has, in many instances, proved not to be as straightforward as it first appears.
For example, the PwC Stamp Duty team successfully negotiated refunds of around $2m for a finance company in relation to overpayment of hiring duty in connection with finance leases.
In another instance, a company became aware of non-payment of hiring duty where a significant amount of duty and penalties were potentially payable. Our stamp duty team worked together with the company to address these issues. A successful outcome was achieved in all respects as follows:
a) the correct amount of duty was payable
b) there was no audit conducted by the revenue authorities
c) penalties were remitted in nearly every jurisdiction in which voluntary disclosure was made, and
d) the client now had an accurate methodology to pay the correct amount of duty.
