Completion approval notice as the acquisition date for gratuitous succession of infrastructure land

1. 01Question

   Where a project developer acquires, under the latter part of Article 65(2) of the former Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act, real property forming infrastructure facilities whose use is abolished, is the acquisition date, that is the date the acquisition tax liability arises, the time the improvement project was granted completion approval and the completion approval notice was sent to the administrative authority under Article 65(4) of that Act?

2. 02Holding

   Yes. Such an acquisition is a gratuitous succession, and because it is not an acquisition by contract, no contract date can be assumed, while the time of the change of ownership is fixed by statute, so that no de facto acquisition can be found before that time. Article 20(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the former Local Tax Act sets no date for this type of gratuitous succession, so the date can only be judged by analogy with inheritance or bequest, and it is the time the improvement project was granted completion approval and the completion approval notice was sent to the administrative authority, as Article 65(4) provides.

   Summary of the holding, verbatim

   위 조항 후단에 따라 사업시행자가 용도폐지되는 정비기반시설을 구성하는 부동산을 취득하는 것은 무상의 승계취득에 해당하는데, 이에 대한 취득세 납세의무 성립일인 취득시기는 같은 법 제65조 제4항에서 정한 ‘정비사업이 준공인가되어 관리청에 준공인가통지를 한 때’라고 봄이 타당하다.

   Unofficial English translation

   An acquisition by a project operator, pursuant to the latter part of the aforesaid Article, of real property constituting infrastructure facilities whose use is to be discontinued constitutes an acquisition by gratuitous succession, and it is reasonable to regard the time of acquisition, which is the date on which the obligation to pay acquisition tax thereon arises, as “when the improvement project has been granted completion authorization and a notification of completion authorization has been given to the managing authority” as prescribed in Article 65 (4) of the same Act.

3. 03Disposition

   Dismissed Stated in the decision

   상고를 기각한다. 상고비용은 원고가 부담한다.

   Unofficial English translation

   The appeal is dismissed. The costs of the final appeal shall be borne by the plaintiff.

4. 04Form of the test

   Elements stated Stated in the decision

   이에 대한 취득세 납세의무 성립일인 취득시기는 같은 법 제65조 제4항에서 정한 ‘정비사업이 준공인가되어 관리청에 준공인가통지를 한 때’라고 봄이 타당하다.

   Unofficial English translation

   It is reasonable to regard the time of acquisition, which is the date on which the obligation to pay acquisition tax thereon arises, as “when the improvement project has been granted completion authorization and a notification of completion authorization has been given to the managing authority” as prescribed in Article 65 (4) of the same Act.

5. 05Factors

   • 무상의 승계취득에 해당하는데
   • 취득세 납세의무 성립일인 취득시기는
   • ‘정비사업이 준공인가되어 관리청에 준공인가통지를 한 때’

   Unofficial English translation

   • constitutes an acquisition by gratuitous succession, and

   • the time of acquisition, which is the date on which the obligation to pay acquisition tax arises, is

   • “when the improvement project has been granted completion authorization and a notification of completion authorization has been given to the managing authority”

6. 06Relation to precedent

   Follows earlier decisions Stated in the decision

   대법원 2019. 4. 3. 선고 2017두66824 판결(공2019상, 998)

   Unofficial English translation

   Supreme Court Decision 2017Du66824 decided April 3, 2019 (Gong 2019 Sang, 998)

   Decisions referred to

   대법원 2019. 4. 3. 선고 2017두66824 판결(공2019상, 998)

7. 07Burden of proof

   Not addressed Not in the decision

8. 08Open question and revisit condition

   If the administrative authority never sends the completion approval notice, when does the acquisition tax liability of the project developer under Article 65(2), latter part, of the former Act arise?

   An amendment to Article 20(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Tax Act fixing the acquisition date for gratuitous succession under Article 65(2), latter part, would displace the analogy with inheritance or bequest. So would a later decision extending or refusing to extend Supreme Court Decision 2017Du33978 to these facts, or the wholly amended Article 97 of the Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act governing a new record.

Read 2026-10-25 · Cross-read 2026-10-25. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.

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