According to calculations with the missing deeds the government incurred a loss of max. 5 million guilders.The draft regards natarial deeds that got lost between 1980 and 1997 but local notaries do have copies. The purpose of the law is to attach legal value to these copies. The initiative for this enactment dates from January 1985 when local notaries expressed their concern on how the Tax Department used notary deeds. At the time the Tax Department stated that the concern was ‘grossly exaggerated’. The explanatory memorandum with the draft states that ‘it appeared afterwards that this was not the case; a large number of the deeds from office of notary public cannot be found’.

 

This had many consequences for the local notaries, according to the explanatory memorandum. “They cannot fulfill their legal obligations, such as safekeeping, and legal authorities, such as issuing counterpart originals, copies and excerpts, but (it also has consequences, (editorial office)) for the treasury because especially the owed transfer tax can’t be paid. The Transfer Tax Regulation (...) stipulates that the tax, as calculated by the Inspector, must be paid upon return of the deed (or verdict) presented for registration and that the Tax Collector is to put pay against receipt on the document. In the period January 1st 1908 to January 1st 1997 it regards approx. 2.8 million guilders. However, according to official estimations this amount could run up to 5 million.

 

The government and the local notaries agreed that in any case the amount indicated by the office of notary public will be paid within short. For that the Tax Collector will grant adequate discharge. Furthermore, the office of notary public will be exempted per deed of any damage claims. Finally, it will be laid by law that the lost deed can be replaced by identical photocopies, copies or photocopies of copies and that subsequently counterpart originals, copies and excerpts of those replacing deeds can be given.

 

It regards an enactment from August 2010. At the time the government of the Netherlands Antilles presented the document to the then Antilles. However, the discussion on the draft wasn’t completed before 10-10’10, the day of the dismantlement of the Antilles and the beginning of the new country Curaçao. Article IV of the Constitution of the country Curaçao enables the Parliament – on the proposal of the government – to decide on discussing a draft national regulation, which the government of the Netherlands Antilles had introduced before the Constitution came into force. According to this article IV, the discussion of the relevant draft will be resumed in the state in which that discussion took place on the time referred to.

 

(Amigoe)