D: Special schemes and exemptions

Free transfer duties are waived on immovable property by nature or purpose that is, for the most part, classified or listed as a historic monument, as well as movable property that is a historical or artistic complement to it, provided that the heirs, donees or legatees have entered into an agreement with the competent administrative authority, after receiving the assent of the minister responsible for the budget, an agreement for an indefinite period providing for the maintenance in the building of the exempt movable property and the conditions under which it is to be displayed, the terms of public access and the conditions under which the exempt property is to be maintained, in accordance with standard provisions approved by decree.

In the event of non-compliance with the rules laid down by this agreement, the exempt property is subject to transfer duties on the basis of its value on the day the agreement is not complied with or the value declared at the time of the gift or death if this value is higher and at the rates to which it would have been subject at the time of its transfer.

The provisions of the first and second paragraphs apply, under the same conditions, to shares in non-trading companies which own and manage the property mentioned in the first paragraph and whose income is taxed as property income. These companies must be set up solely between related persons in the direct line or between brothers and sisters, their spouses and, where applicable, the children of these different persons. The shares in these companies must remain the property of these people or their descendants.

The exemption for these shares only applies up to the fraction of their net value that corresponds to the property mentioned in the first paragraph. It is, moreover, subject to the following conditions:

a) The shares must have been held for more than two years by the donor or the deceased where the latter subscribed to or acquired them for valuable consideration;

b) The shares must remain the property of the donee, heir or legatee for a period of five years from the date of the gratuitous transfer. Where this condition is not complied with, the duties shall be recalled, increased by the late payment interest referred to in article 1727;

c) The beneficiaries of the gratuitous transfer must undertake to adhere to the agreement referred to in the first paragraph which will have been signed between the civil company and the competent administrative authority;

d) (Repealed);

The conditions for the application of the third to seventh paragraphs, in particular the reporting obligations, shall be determined by decree.