1/1/2006
Finance Minister Dr. Mohammad Abu Hammour stated that the decision of the Council of Ministers to extend the exemptions on the differences in fees for the land registration transactions aims to help citizens by reducing the burden of these fees which appeared after the completion of the sale & purchase procedures, and issuance of title deeds. He added that the Council decided to approve the renewal of the exemption, as according to the provisions of the law of exemption from public funds No. 28 for the year 2006: 1 - Exempt the citizens who benefited from differences in fees and taxes not exceeding 1000 J.Ds. 2 - Exempt the citizens who benefited from differences in fees and taxes exceeding 1000 J.Ds fby the amount of 1000 J.Ds, and 50 percent of the remaining value until 31/12/2010. Dr. Mohammed Abu Hammour Noted that the procedures of exemption from the differences in fees and taxes on land registration transactions come as a continuation of the governments actions to stimulate the real estate sector through granting exemptions for the transfer of ownership of apartments and lands, and by increasing the area of the apartment exempted from fees to 150 m2 instead of 120 m2, and the elimination of the requirement of buying the apartment from a housing company, where it (the exemption) can be maintained, regardless of the seller, whether a citizen or a company. In addition to that, the fees of ownership transfer has been reduced by 50 per cent. It is obvious that these benefits will push the real estate sector towards a further growth, which usually affects the growth of other related sectors. The following are the details of the exemptions and the privileges obtained by this vital sector: A) Apartments exemptions: 1 - Exemption from the registration fees and related accessories for all subdivided and structurally completed residential units whether apartments or individual houses, regardless of the seller, according to the following: - The area of the apartment or the house not exceeding 150 m2 without counting the services area. 2 - If the area of the apartment or the house -without counting the services area- exceeds 150 m2, the extra area up to 300 m2 is subject to the reduced registration fees mentioned in item (b) below: 3 - If the area of the apartment or the house exceeds 300 m2, the whole area of the apartment or the house is subject to the reduced registration fees mentioned in item (b) below. B) Land exemptions: 1 –Sale fees has been reduced to 50 percent of the figure mentioned in item (1 / a, b) of the schedule attached to the Law of land registration fees, and that is only for the unbuilt and cultivated lands. 2 - Reducing sale fees prescribed in item (1 / c) of the schedule attached to the law of land registration fees to 2.75 percent instead of 5 percent, and that is for the open and cultivated lands only. 3 - Reducing the additional fees for universities by 50 percent of the percentage set forth in the provisions of article (4) of the lawof additional fees for universities for the open and planted land only. 4 - Reducing the property sale tax by 50 percent set forth in the provisions of article 3 of the property sale tax law for the unbuilt or cultivated land only. C) The implementation of this decree ends on 31/12/2010. In addition, the approval for the companies, natural persons and legal entities who own real estates in the Kingdom to facilitate and reduce the duration of the transfer of the immovable properties on the basis of the provisions of article (14 /A) of the law of renting the immovable properties and selling it to non-Jordanians and legal persons No. (47 ) for the year 2006, which states that "No natural non-Jordanian person, or any legal person who owns an immovable property -in accordance with the provisions of this law- to transfer the ownership in any way before three years from the date of possession if for housing purposes, and five years if for any other purpose, under penalty of nullity, only if he obtains the approval of the Finance Minister upon the recommendation of the Director general of Department of Lands & Survey and within the provisions of this law and related legislations in force." , in order to enable these companies, enterprises, natural persons and legal entities to provide the needed financial resources to complete the implementation of their projects in the Kingdom, and to reduce the cost of the establishment of these projects to contribute to the growth of the national economy. He urged the citizens who should pay differences in registration fees in amounts of more than 1000 J.Ds to visit the Department of Lands and Survey or its land registration directorates to benefit from the partial exemption within the period set by the Council of Ministers, which ends on 31/12/2010, in order to obtain exemption from the first 1000 J.Ds and 50 percent of the remaining amount, on the condition of paying during the mentioned period