The decision further clarified that "The disputes will be in accordance with the decision in the objection and no more" (The quotes are from the Haifa Committee's decision of February 25,2025, which refers to its previous decision of February 17,2025).
An appeal was filed with the Supreme Court against the decision of the Haifa Committee to prevent the respondent from amending the value of the sale from a total of ILS 6.5 million to a sum of ILS 7.5 million. The said appeal is pending.
- In view of the following procedural situation"We will not address here the issue of the value of the sale and will suffice with a note that on the face of it, the value of the sale is supposed to stand. At the very least., about 6.5 million shekels")and not as initially reported by the appellants) as a result of the addition of the considerations specified in clauses 4.1 and 5.1.2.1 to the sale contract. Naturally, None We express every opinion as to the justification of adding the amount stated in clause 5.1.2.2 to the sale contract to the amount of the sale value, as requested by the respondent.
- "Undertaking by the seller to finish the construction"
- It was found that alternative (1) to the definition of "Residential Apartment" in section 9(c) The law leads, at least, to these two results:
- From one end of the spectrum of possibilities, if a person purchases a mere apartment skeleton, without any check of a valid building contract, so that he will be required to arrange the completion of the construction on his own, the property being sold will not be considered "Residential Apartment";
- at the other end of the spectrum of possibilities, if a person purchases "Apartment on paper" From a building contractor who undertakes to build the apartment in its entirety, the property being sold will be considered "Residential Apartment". This rule reflects the reality in the real estate market"according to which a significant portion of the residential apartments purchased each year are indeed purchased as aforementioned - "On paper" from the contractors (according to the Helm data"S, in 2025 the aforementioned percentage was about 37.5%).
In between, between the two ends of the spectrum, there are various circumstances of the transfer of rights and obligations between the seller and the buyer, and in each such situation, the question may arise whether the "package" purchased by the buyer includes an undertaking on the part of the seller to finish the construction, as required by law in order for the property to be considered a residential apartment for the purposes of purchase tax.
- It should be noted that the definition of "Residential Apartment", in the original formula, add Section 9 As part of a legislative initiative that is coming Make it easier About Apartment Buyers "Popularity" (Amendment No. 31 to the Law, 60)"509, of March 17,1995). In this context, the relief was necessary both for those who purchased an existing apartment ("Second hand") and for those who purchased a new apartment from a contractor ("On paper"), where in the latter case a package is sold to the buyer that includes both the necessary real estate and the construction services required for the construction of the long-awaited apartment.
- Due to changes in the purchase tax rates that have occurred over the years since then, in some cases the status of the property as a residential apartment may save purchase tax, while in other cases (and especially in the case of expensive properties) the classification as a residential apartment may lead to the payment of higher purchase tax. As such, adopting one interpretation or another to the box in question ("Undertaking on the part of the seller") should be neutral, with no tendency to ease and no tendency to be stringent.
- This Appeals Committee addressed the issue "Undertaking on the part of the seller" In the matter Ackerman (Appeals Committee 48493-05-15 Meir Ackerman et al. v. Tel Aviv Real Estate Taxation Administration, granted on May 21,2017). In the said case, it was ruled (by a majority of opinions) that the rights acquired by the appellants there constitute "Residential Apartment" - Therefore, the purchase tax liability will be higher - And this is in accordance with the alternative The second of the definition of a residential apartment that concerns "Purchasing Group". However, the Appeals Committee also referred to the first alternative to the definition (the one discussed in the present appeals). There, too, the rights of the sellers pursuant to an agreement with an executing contractor were assigned to the purchasers (the appellants). The majority of the Appeals Committee (H)"from Vero"Zvi Friedman) was of the opinion that the set of agreements that was examined did not include an obligation "From the seller's side" to finish the construction. Ro"H. Zvi Friedman wrote:
"... We must interpret, in light of the purpose of the law in this matter, the 'seller' box as aforesaid in the narrow sense. That is, a search for the seller's undertaking in his capacity as a seller, which constitutes the seller's party to the sale contract. In that case, a clear and explicit undertaking on his part to complete the construction will lead to the application of the definition of 'residential apartment' to the case at hand.