Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 section Schedule 2 paragraph 11

Identifying the seller in assignment of rights cases

Schedule 2, paragraph 11 explains how to identify who counts as the "seller" for Land Transaction Tax purposes when a pre-completion transaction involves an assignment of rights and the property is subsequently transferred to, or the contract is substantially performed by, the assignee (the transferee).

• When rights under a land contract are assigned and the property is then transferred to, or the contract substantially performed by, the assignee, special rules determine who is treated as the "seller" for LTT purposes.
• The general rule is that the seller under the original contract is treated as the seller, but if the original contract was substantially performed before the assignee became entitled to call for a transfer of the property, then the original buyer at the time of substantial performance is treated as the seller instead.
• For certain specific provisions — covering debt as consideration, carrying out of works, buyer indemnities, transfers involving public bodies, and planning obligations relief — the term "seller" is expanded to include both the seller under the original contract and the transferor under any relevant assignment of rights.
• When determining whether a relevant land transaction is linked to another transaction, it may be assumed that either the seller under the original contract or the transferor under any relevant assignment of rights is the seller.