An agreement to sell unsevered fixtures constitutes an agreement to sell an interest in land for stamp duty purposes under the Stamp Act 1921 (WA). A person who does not own the land to which fixtures are attached may nevertheless hold a proprietary interest in those fixtures capable of sale. Where a transaction is structured through sale and licence agreements, the court will look at the substance of the arrangements including termination provisions to determine whether the instrument effects a sale of fixtures. The assessability of an instrument to duty is determined as at the date of execution, and contractual provisions that operate only after execution (such as recalculation clauses) do not affect assessability.
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