Insurance customers may be eligible for more than $50 million in stamp duty refunds after the NSW Court of Appeal held the impost is not payable by foreign insurers.

Last week the Court of Appeal upheld a decision in the case of Qantas Airways v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue that found stamp duty is not payable under the NSW Duties Act on insurance premiums paid to insurers which are not licensed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

The potential refund applies to insurance policies placed with insurers not licensed as general insurers under the Insurance Act.

In a statement released on Friday, Marsh Australia said it will now liaise with relevant offices of state revenue about applications it has submitted on behalf of its clients.

Between December and February, Marsh lodged applications for reassessment with state revenue offices in NSW, the ACT, Tasmania and Queensland.

A spokesman declined to reveal how many applications the broker is handling but told insuranceNEWS.com.au that based on premium taxes paid by Marsh clients, “the total refund for policies upon which duty was paid in NSW could amount in the tens of millions, likely to be in excess of $50 million”.

Qantas is likely to be among the biggest claimants with a refund worth $5.1 million.

The NSW Chief Commissioner has 28 days to seek special leave to appeal to the High Court following last week’s ruling.

Potential refunds apply for a window of five years ending on June 20 2006, when provisions that were the subject of the Qantas case were amended. The five-year window is calculated from the date of lodgement of an application being made to the NSW Office of State Revenue for a reassessment or refund.

It means an application lodged today could entitle organisations to claim a refund on duty paid from July 20 2004 until June 20 2006.