Stamp Duty on Motor Vehicles
Motor Vehicle Dealer
To apply for a Second Hand Motor Vehicle Dealers Licence, you can contact the Office of Business and Consumer Affairs (OCBA) , Commercial Licensing Section, on phone 82049686, or visit OCBA.
General Motor Dealer advice (as per OCBA)
"A private person who sells or offers for sale a second-hand vehicle is not normally considered to be a dealer. However, a person is required to be licensed as a second-hand motor vehicle dealer if they are carrying on a business as a dealer. A person who sells a vehicle as part of a profit-making system may be considered to be a dealer. If you sell four or more vehicles in a 12 month period, the law presumes you are a dealer and it will be up to you to prove otherwise. If you have any doubts about this issue, you should seek independent legal advice."
Exempt Vehicles
Dealers may claim an exemption from the payment of stamp duty on the registration and transfer of registration of new and used vehicles registered for the purpose of resale and new vehicles used as demonstrator vehicles.
All such vehicles must be readily available for sale and, where applicable, display the sales schedules required pursuant to the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act 1995.
Licensed Second Hand Motor Vehicle Dealers are not entitled to claim an exemption from stamp duty when purchasing new motor vehicles unless they are in the business of selling new motor vehicles.
The maximum registration period for which a dealer exemption can be claimed on the registration of a vehicle is twelve (12) months.
Where vehicles are retained for a period longer than 12 months but have not been continually registered during that period, the total period for which the vehicle has been registered will be taken as the period for exemption purposes.
Compliance Audits
Compliance audits and investigations will be conducted in relation to the issues outlined above, as well as any other particular issues, including the following.
- low values being declared on second-hand imported motor vehicles; and
- new and second-hand motor vehicles utilising trade plates inappropriately and thereby claiming an exemption to which they are not entitled.
- motor vehicles which have been sold but are still registered in the dealer’s name.
Significant reductions in penalty tax and can be obtained by notifying this Office voluntarily of the following events and by making prompt payment thereon:
- A vehicle registered to a dealer when the dealer has incorrectly claimed the exemption;
- A vehicle registered to a dealer when the dealer exemption is no longer applicable; and
- A vehicle that is sold or delivered by a dealer to a customer, where the contract of sale or delivery states that the dealer is to arrange registration or transfer of registration, and the vehicle has not been registered in the customer’s name within the prescribed time limit of 14 days.
Disclosure and Payment
If you wish to make a voluntary disclosure to RevenueSA, please see information regarding disclosures here.
A Motor Vehicle Dealer Voluntary Disclosure Form is also available.
Written correspondence and payments by cheque or money order, made payable to the Commissioner of State Taxation and sent to the address below.
Further detailed information is available in Circular 271.
Contact Details
Enquiries should be directed to:
Taxation Services – Returns Branch
RevenueSA
GPO Box 1353
ADELAIDE SA 5001.
Telephone: (08) 8204 9888 or email: returns@sa.gov.au
This page was last reviewed 14 April, 2011
