(1)This section applies where a company purchases its own shares under section 162 of the Companies Act 1985 M1 or Article 47 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 M2.
(2)The return which relates to the shares purchased and is delivered to the registrar of companies under section 169 of that Act or, as the case may be, Article 53 of that Order shall be charged with stamp duty, and treated for all purposes of the Stamp Act 1891 M3, as if it were an instrument transferring the shares on sale to the company in pursuance of the contract (or contracts) of purchase concerned.
(3)Subject to subsection (4) below, this section applies to any return under section 169 of the Companies Act 1985, or Article 53 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1982, which is delivered to the registrar of companies on or after the day of The Stock Exchange reforms.
(4)This section does not apply to any return to the extent that the shares to which it relates were purchased under a contract entered into before the day of The Stock Exchange reforms.
(5)In this section “the day of The Stock Exchange reforms” means the day on which the rule of The Stock Exchange that prohibits a person from carrying on business as both a broker and a jobber is abolished.