With the current high RPGT rates, it is important to know how to determine the period of ownership when you are thinking of a disposal in properties or Real Property Company shares, according to paragraph 15 and 16 of the Second Schedule of the RPGT Act 1976. The basic rule is that the date of the written agreement is the date of the disposal and acquisition. If however the disposal requires the approval by the Government or a State Government, the date of disposal shall be the date of such approval or if the approval is conditional, the date of disposal shall be the date when the last of all such conditions is satisfied. So the disposal date can move from the date of the written agreement to a later date. In a recent case, a client sold a property. The client thought that they were late in filing but when we made enquiries, we discovered that the disposal was subject to a State Government consent. Needless to say, the client was relieved that there was no late filing and no penalty and that the RPGT filing was still on time within the 60 days of disposal from the date of the State Government consent, and not from the date of the written Sales and Purchase Agreement.
