Hong Kong's Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2026 will be gazetted on October 2.

Hong Kong's Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2026 will be gazetted on October 2 to implement the measures announced in the 2026-27 Budget, relaxing the stamp duty relief criteria for intra-group asset transfers. Under the Stamp Duty Ordinance, transfers of immovable property or Hong Kong stock between associated bodies corporate are exempt from stamp duty. Currently, bodies corporate are regarded as associated if one holds 90% or more of the issued share capital of the other, or if a third body corporate holds 90% or more of the issued share capital of each. The Bill will relax the criteria for determining whether bodies corporate are associated by taking into account, in addition to issued share capital, other direct or indirect beneficial interests or voting rights, and will lower the relevant holding threshold to 75%. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said: "As some new types of enterprises do not issue share capital, such as limited liability partnerships and companies limited by guarantee, other enterprises may hold direct or indirect beneficial interests, such as equity interests and participating interests, when exercising ownership over these enterprises. The Bill relaxes the definition of associated bodies corporate so that these new types of enterprises can also benefit from the stamp duty relief for intra-group asset transfers." "Corporate expansion and restructuring often involve intra-group asset transfers. The Bill enables more enterprises to benefit from the relevant stamp duty relief, helping to further enhance the business environment and thereby boosting the competitiveness of Hong Kong's tax regime." The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on October 14 for First Reading and the commencement of Second Reading debate. If passed by the Legislative Council, it will apply to instruments executed on or after February 25 this year.