(1) All the facts and
circumstances affecting the liability of any instrument to duty, or the amount
of the duty with which any instrument is chargeable, are to be fully and truly
set forth in the instrument; and a person must not, with intent to defraud the
Crown —
(a)
execute any instrument in which all the said facts and circumstances are not
fully and truly set forth; or
(b)
being employed or concerned in or about the preparation of any instrument,
neglect or omit fully and truly to set forth therein all the said facts and
circumstances.
Penalty: $20 000.
(1a) For the purposes
of subsection (1) the suppression from an instrument of any fact or
circumstance referred to in subsection (1) or the inclusion therein of any
matter that is known to be false in a material particular is prima facie
evidence of intent to defraud the Crown.
(2) The Commissioner
may, in a case in which he considers that the circumstances so require, permit
any error in an instrument to be corrected before the instrument is stamped.
(3) A person who,
after an instrument has been stamped, alters the instrument in any manner
which may increase its liability to duty shall produce the altered instrument,
within one calendar month after the making of the alteration, to enable the
Commissioner to reassess the amount of duty payable on the instrument.
Penalty: $20 000.
(4) For the purposes
of this section facts and circumstances referred to in subsection (1) that are
set forth in a document accompanying an instrument when it is presented for
stamping are to be regarded as being set forth in that instrument.
[Section 26 amended: No. 113 of 1965 s. 4(1); No.
37 of 1979 s. 21; No. 81 of 1984 s. 8; No. 33 of 1987 s. 8; No. 20 of 1996
s. 18; No. 2 of 2003 s. 13.]
[Modification, to section 26, to have effect under
the Commonwealth Places (Mirror Taxes) Act 1998 (Commonwealth) s. 8, see
Commonwealth Places (Mirror Taxes) (Modification of Applied Laws (WA)) Notice
2007 cl. 44 and endnote 1MC.]