VALUE-ADDED TAX ACT, 1972

Provided that if the amount of the interest as so calculated is less than £5, the amount of interest payable shall be £5.

• (2) Subsection (1) shall apply—

• (a) to tax recoverable by virtue of a notice under section 22 as if the tax were tax which the person was liable to pay for the respective taxable period or periods comprised in the notice, and

• (b) to tax recoverable by virtue of a notice under section 23 as if the tax were tax which the person was liable to pay for the taxable period during which the period of fourteen days from the date of the service of the notice expired or the appeal provided for in that section was determined by agreement or otherwise, whichever taxable period is the later.

22 Estimation of tax due for a taxable period.

22.—(1) If within the time prescribed by section 19 (3) an accountable person fails to furnish in accordance with the relevant regulations a return of the tax payable by him in respect of any taxable period, then, without prejudice to any other action which may be taken, the Revenue Commissioners may, in accordance with regulations, but subject to section 30, estimate the amount of tax payable by him in respect of that taxable period and serve notice on him of the amount estimated.

• (2) Where a notice is served under subsection (1) on a person, the following provisions shall apply:

• (a) the person may, if he claims that he is not an accountable person, by giving notice in writing to the Revenue Commissioners within the period of twenty-one days from the date of the service of the notice, require the claim to be referred for decision to the Appeal Commissioners and their decision shall, subject to section 25, be final and conclusive,

• (b) on the expiration of the said period, if no such claim is required to be so referred, or if such a claim is required to be so referred, on final determination against the claim, the estimated tax specified in the notice shall be recoverable in the same manner and by the like proceedings as if the person had furnished, within the prescribed period, a true and correct return, in accordance with regulations, for the taxable period to which the estimate relates, showing as due by him such estimated tax,

• (c) if at any time after the service of the notice the person furnishes a return, in accordance with regulations, in respect of the taxable period specified in the notice and pays tax in accordance with the return, together with any interest and costs which may have been incurred in connection with the default, the notice shall, subject to paragraph (d), stand discharged and any excess of tax which may have been paid shall be repaid,

• (d) where action for the recovery of tax specified in a notice under subsection (1), being action by way of the institution of proceedings in any court or the issue of a certificate under section 485 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, has been taken, paragraph (c) shall not, unless the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct, apply in relation to that notice until the said action has been completed.

• (3) A notice given by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (1) may extend to two or more taxable periods.

23 Estimation of tax due for any period.

23.—(1) Where the Revenue Commissioners have reason to believe that the total amount of tax payable by an accountable person, in relation to any period consisting of one taxable period or of two or more consecutive taxable periods, was greater than the total amount of tax (if any) paid by him in relation to that period, then, without prejudice to any other action which may be taken, they may, in accordance with regulations but subject to section 30, make an estimate in one sum of the total amount of tax which in their opinion should have been paid in respect of the taxable period or periods comprised in such period and may serve a notice on the person specifying—

• (a) the total amount of tax so estimated,

• (b) the total amount of tax (if any) paid by the person in relation to the said period, and

• (c) the balance of tax remaining unpaid.

• (2) Where notice is served on an accountable person under subsection (1), the following provisions shall apply:

• (a) the person may, if he claims that the total amount of tax or the balance of tax remaining unpaid is excessive, on giving notice in writing to the Revenue Commissioners within the period of twenty-one days from the date of the service of the notice, appeal to the Appeal Commissioners,

• (b) on the expiration of the said period, if no notice of appeal is received or, if notice of appeal is received, on determination of the appeal by agreement or otherwise, the balance of tax remaining unpaid as specified in the notice or the amended balance of tax as determined in relation to the appeal shall become due and payable as if the tax were tax which the person was liable to pay for the taxable period during which the period of fourteen days from the date of the service of the notice under subsection (1) expired or the appeal was determined by agreement or otherwise, whichever taxable period is the later.

24 Recovery of tax.

24.—(1) (a) Without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, the provisions of any enactment relating to the recovery of income tax and the provisions of any rule of court so relating shall apply to the recovery of any tax payable in accordance with this Act and the regulations thereunder as they apply in relation to the recovery of income tax.

• (b) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), that paragraph applies the provisions of sections 480, 485, 486, 487, 488 and 491 of the Income Tax Act, 1967.

• (c) Provisions as applied by this section shall so apply subject to any modifications specified by regulations under this Act.

• (2) In proceedings instituted under this section or any regulations for the recovery of any amount of tax—

• (a) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that a stated amount of tax is due and payable by the defendant shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that that amount is so due and payable, and

• (b) a certificate certifying as aforesaid and purporting to be signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners.

• (3) Any reference in the foregoing subsections to an amount of tax includes a reference to interest payable in the case in question under section 21.

• (4) Subject to this section, the rules of the court concerned for the time being applicable to civil proceedings shall apply to proceedings by virtue of this section or any regulation under this Act.

• (5) Where an order which was made before the passing of this Act under section 12 of the Court Officers Act, 1945, contains a reference to levy under a certificate issued under section 485 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, that reference shall be construed as including a reference to levy under a certificate issued under the said section 485 as extended by this section.

25 Appeals.

25.—(1) Any person aggrieved by a determination of the Revenue Commissioners in relation to—

• (a) a liability to tax under subsection (5) or (6) of section 17,

• (b) a charge of tax in accordance with regulations, or

• (c) a claim for repayment of tax,

against which an appeal to the Appeal Commissioners is not otherwise provided for under this Act may, on giving notice in writing to the Revenue Commissioners within twenty-one days after the notification to the person aggrieved of the determination, appeal to the Appeal Commissioners.

• (2) The provisions of the Income Tax Acts relating to—

• (a) the appointment of times and places for the hearing of appeals;

• (b) the giving of notice to each person who has given notice of appeal of the time and place appointed for the hearing of his appeal;

• (c) the determination of an appeal by agreement between the appellant and an inspector of taxes or other officer appointed by the Revenue Commissioners in that behalf;

• (d) the determination of an appeal by the appellant giving notice of his intention not to proceed with the appeal;

• (e) the hearing and determination of an appeal by the Appeal Commissioners, including the hearing and determination of an appeal by one Appeal Commissioner;

• (f) the determination of an appeal through the neglect or refusal of a person who has given notice of appeal to attend before the Appeal Commissioners at the time and place appointed;

• (g) the extension of the time for giving notice of appeal, and the readmission of appeals by the Appeal Commissioners;

• (h) the rehearing of an appeal by a judge of the Circuit Court and the statement of a case for the opinion of the High Court on a point of law;

• (i) the payment of tax in accordance with the determination of the Appeal Commissioners notwithstanding that an appeal is required to be reheard by a judge of the Circuit Court or that a case for the opinion of the High Court on a point of law has been required to be stated or is pending;

• (j) the payment of tax which is agreed not to be in dispute in relation to an appeal; and

• (k) the procedures for appeal,

shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to a claim under section 22 or an appeal under section 23 or this section as if the claim or appeal were an appeal against an assessment to income tax.

26 Penalties generally.

26.—(1) A person who does not comply with section 9 (2), 11 (7), 13, 16, 17, 18 or 19 or any provision of regulations in regard to any matter to which the foregoing sections relate shall be liable to a penalty of £20, together with, in the case of a continuing non-compliance, a penalty of the like amount for every day on which the non-compliance is continued.

• (2) A person who is not a registered person and who, on or after the specified day, otherwise than under and in accordance with section 13, issues an invoice in which an amount of tax is stated shall be liable to a penalty of £20.

• (3) Where a person mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) is a body of persons, the secretary shall be liable to a separate penalty of £20.

• (4) All penalties under this section may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be proceeded for and recovered summarily in the same manner as in summary proceedings for recovery of any penalty under any Act relating to the excise, and, notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings under this section may be instituted within three years from the date of the incurring of the penalty.

• (5) Where—

• (a) a person does not comply with section 9 (2), 18 (2) or 19 (3),

• (b) compliance is required within a particular period, and

• (c) the person continues, during a further period of two or more days, not to furnish the particulars or return concerned or produce for inspection or permit the removal of the documents concerned,

the non-compliance shall be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1), as a non-compliance continuing on every day, other than the first, of the further period.

• (6) In proceedings for recovery of a penalty under this section—

• (a) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that he has inspected the relevant records of the Revenue Commissioners and that it appears from them that, during a stated period, stated particulars or stated returns were not furnished by the defendant shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that the defendant did not, during that period, furnish the particulars or return,

• (b) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that he has inspected the relevant records of the Revenue Commissioners and that it appears from them that a stated document was duly sent to the defendant on a stated day shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that that person received that document in the ordinary course,

• (c) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that he has inspected the relevant records of the Revenue Commissioners and that it appears from them that a stated notice was not issued by them to the defendant shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that the defendant did not receive the notice in question,

• (d) a certificate certifying as provided for in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) and purporting to be signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners.

• (7) Subject to this section, the rules of the court concerned for the time being applicable to civil proceedings shall apply to proceedings pursuant to this section.

27 Fraudulent returns, etc.

27.—(1) Where a person fraudulently or negligently, for the purposes of this Act or of regulations, produces, furnishes, gives, sends or otherwise makes use of, any incorrect return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration, he shall, subject to subsection (2), be liable to a penalty of—

• (a) £100, and

• (b) the amount, or, in the case of fraud, twice the amount of the difference between the amount of tax paid by such person for the period in question and the amount of tax properly payable by him if the said return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration had been correct.

• (2) Where a person mentioned in the foregoing subsection is a body of persons—

• (a) the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to £100 shall be construed as a reference to £500, or, in the case of fraud, £1,000, and

• (b) the secretary shall be liable to a separate penalty of £100, or, in the case of fraud, £200.

• (3) Where any such return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration as is mentioned in subsection (1) was made or submitted by a person neither fraudulently nor negligently and it comes to his notice (or, if he has died, to the notice of his personal representative) that it was incorrect, then, unless the error is remedied without unreasonable delay, the return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been negligently made or submitted by him.

• (4) If a person, in a case in which he represents that he is a registered person or is a manufacturer of certain goods or uses a registration number allotted under section 9, improperly procures the importation of goods without payment of tax in circumstances in which tax is chargeable, he shall be liable to a penalty of £500, and, in addition, he shall be liable to pay to the Revenue Commissioners the amount of any tax which should have been paid on importation.

• (5) A person who fraudulently or negligently—

• (a) issues an invoice in which an amount of tax is stated, in such circumstances that the said amount does not represent the amount of tax which becomes due by him in respect of the transaction to which the invoice relates, or

• (b) issues a credit note showing an amount of tax other than that properly applicable to the transaction to which the credit note relates,

shall be liable to a penalty of £100 in addition to his liability under section 17 (5) in respect of the issue of any such invoice or credit note.

• (6) Notwithstanding anything in section 30, proceedings for the recovery of any penalties under this section shall not be out of time by reason that they are commenced after the time allowed by the said section 30.

• (7) For the purposes of this section, any return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration submitted on behalf of a person shall be deemed to have been submitted by that person unless he proves that it was submitted without his consent or knowledge.

• (8) Any reference in the foregoing subsections to an amount of tax includes a reference to interest payable in the case in question under section 21.

28 Assisting in making incorrect returns, etc.

28.—Any person who assists in or induces the making or delivery, for the purposes of tax, of any return, invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration which he knows to be incorrect shall be liable to a penalty of £500.

29 Proceedings in High Court in respect of penalties.

29.—(1) Without prejudice to any other mode of recovery of a penalty under this Act, an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, authorised by them for the purposes of this subsection, may sue in his own name by civil proceedings for the recovery of the penalty in the High Court as a liquidated sum and the provisions of section 94 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924, shall apply accordingly.

• (2) If an officer who has commenced proceedings pursuant to this section, or who has continued the proceedings by virtue of this subsection, dies or otherwise ceases for any reason to be an officer authorised for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section—

• (a) the right of such officer to continue the proceedings shall cease and the right to continue them shall vest in such other officer so authorised as may be nominated by the Revenue Commissioners,

• (b) where such other officer is nominated under paragraph (a) of this subsection, he shall be entitled accordingly to be substituted as a party to the proceedings in the place of the first mentioned officer, and

• (c) where an officer is so substituted, he shall give notice in writing of the substitution to the defendant.

• (3) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate signed by a Revenue Commissioner certifying the following facts, namely, that a person is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners and that he has been authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1), shall be evidence until the contrary is proved of those facts.

• (4) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate signed by a Revenue Commissioner certifying the following facts, namely, that the plaintiff has ceased to be an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1), that another person is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, that such other person has been authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1) and that he has been nominated by them in relation to the proceedings, for the purposes of subsection (2), shall be evidence until the contrary is proved of those facts.

• (5) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate certifying the facts referred to in subsection (3) or (4) and purporting to be signed by a Revenue Commissioner may be tendered in evidence without proof, and shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been so signed.

• (6) Subject to this section, the rules of the High Court for the time being applicable to civil proceedings shall apply to proceedings pursuant to this section.

30 Time limits.

30.—(1) Subject to subsection (3) and sections 26 (4) and 27 (6), proceedings for the recovery of any penalty under this Act may be commenced at any time within six years next after the date on which it was incurred.

• (2) Where the person who has incurred any penalty has died, any proceedings under this Act which have been or could have been commenced against him may be continued or commenced against his personal representative and any penalty awarded in proceedings so continued or commenced shall be a debt due from and payable out of his estate.

• (3) Proceedings commenced by virtue of subsection (2) may be begun at any time not later than three years after the expiration of the year in which the deceased person died in a case in which the grant of probate or letters of administration was made in that year and at any time not later than two years after the expiration of the year in which such grant was made in any other case, but the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall have effect subject to the proviso that where the personal representative lodges a corrective affidavit for the purpose of assessment of estate duty after the year in which the deceased person died, the proceedings may be begun at any time before the expiration of two years next after the end of the year in which the corrective affidavit was lodged.

• (4)
• (a) An estimation of tax under section 22 or 23 may be made at any time not later than ten years after the end of the taxable period to which the estimate relates or, where the period in respect of which the estimate is made consists of two or more taxable periods, after the end of the earlier or earliest taxable period comprised in such period:

Provided that in a case in which any form of fraud or neglect has been committed by or on behalf of any person in connection with or in relation to tax, an estimation as aforesaid may be made at any time for any period for which, by reason of the fraud or neglect, tax would otherwise be lost to the Exchequer.

• (b) In this subsection “neglect” means negligence or a failure to give any notice, to furnish particulars, to make any return or to produce or furnish any invoice, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration required to be given, furnished, made or produced by or under this Act or regulations:

Provided that a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if he did it within such further time, if any, as the Revenue Commissioners may have allowed; and where a person had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done, he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if he did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.

• (5)
• (a) Where a person dies, an estimation of tax under section 22 or 23 (as the case may be) may be made on his personal representative for any period for which such an estimation could have been made upon him immediately before his death, or could be made upon him if he were living, in respect of tax which became due by such person before his death, and the amount of tax recoverable under any such estimation shall be a debt due from and payable out of the estate of such person.

• (b) No estimation of tax shall be made by virtue of this subsection later than three years after the expiration of the year in which the deceased person died in a case in which the grant of probate or letters of administration was made in that year and no such estimation shall be made later than two years after the expiration of the year in which such grant was made in any other case, but the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall have effect subject to the proviso that where the personal representative lodges a corrective affidavit for the purposes of assessment of estate duty after the year in which the deceased person died, such estimation may be made at any time before the expiration of two years after the end of the year in which the corrective affidavit was lodged.

31 Application of section 512 of the Income Tax Act, 1967.

31.—The provisions of section 512 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, shall apply to any penalty incurred under this Act.

32 Regulations.

32.—(1) The Revenue Commissioners shall make such regulations as seem to them to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this Act and of enabling them to discharge their functions thereunder and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the regulations may make provision in relation to all or any of the following matters—

• (a) the manner in which exemption in respect of certain services may be waived under section 7 and any such waiver may be cancelled, and the adjustments, including a charge of tax, which may be made as a condition of any such cancellation;

• (b) the treatment under section 5 (2) of the rendering of a service by a person for the purpose of a business activity in which he engages as the rendering of such service in the course of business;

• (c) the particulars required for registration and the manner in which registration may be effected and cancelled;

• (d) the manner in which a person may elect to be an accountable person and any such election may be cancelled, the treatment of an accountable person as a person who is not accountable, and the adjustments, including a charge of tax, which may be made as a condition of any such cancellation or treatment;

• (e) the manner in which any amount may be apportioned;

• (f) the treatment of portion of the consideration payable to certain farmers and fishermen in respect of goods delivered and services rendered by them as tax that may be deducted under section 12 in computing the amount of tax payable;

• (g) the treatment of the total of the moneys actually received by a person in respect of the delivery of goods or the rendering of services as the total of the consideration which he is entitled to receive for such delivery or rendering and the adjustments, including a charge of tax, which may be made when a person becomes liable to account for tax on the basis of moneys received or, having been so liable, ceases to be so liable or ceases to be an accountable person;

• (h) the keeping by accountable persons of records and the retention of such records and supporting documents;

• (i) the form of invoice, credit note, debit note and settlement voucher required to be used for the purposes of this Act, the particulars required to be inserted in such documents and the period within which such documents are required to be issued;

• (j) the furnishing of returns and the particulars to be shown thereon;

• (k) the nomination by the Revenue Commissioners of officers to perform any acts and discharge any functions authorised by this Act to be performed or discharged by the Revenue Commissioners;

• (l) the manner in which tax is to be recovered in cases of default of payment;

• (m) the refund of tax in excess of the amount required by law to be borne, or paid to the Revenue Commissioners;

• (n) disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners of such information as they may require for the ascertainment of liability to tax;

• (o) the remission at the discretion of the Revenue Commissioners of small amounts of tax and interest;

• (p) matters consequential on the death of a registered person or his becoming subject to any incapacity;

• (q) service of notices;

• (r) the acceptance of estimates (whether or not subject to subsequent review) of the amount of tax payable or of any amounts relating to such tax;

• (s) the adjustment of the liability of an accountable person who delivers goods or renders services and of the liability of an accountable person to whom goods are delivered or services are rendered where goods are returned, the consideration is reduced, a bad debt is incurred or a discount is allowed;

• (t) the valuation of interests in or over immovable goods;

• (u) the estimation of tax due for a taxable or other period;

• (v) the relief for stock-in-trade held on the specified day;

• (w) the relief of a dealer in livestock from accountability for tax on the delivery by him of any such goods and the treatment of such dealer as a person required under section 13 to issue an invoice in respect of the delivery by him of any such goods; the treatment of a sale by auction by an auctioneer (including a livestock mart) of livestock as a delivery of such goods by a person required under section 13 to issue an invoice in respect of the delivery of such goods;

• (x) the apportionment between tax which may be deducted under section 12 and tax which may not be deducted under that section, the review, by reference to the circumstances obtaining in any period not exceeding one year, of any such apportionment previously made, the charge or repayment of tax consequent on any such review and the furnishing of particulars by an accountable person to the Revenue Commissioners for the purpose of any such review;

• (y) the particulars to be furnished and the manner in which notification is to be given to the Revenue Commissioners by a person who intends to promote a dance, and the manner in which the Revenue Commissioners shall notify the proprietor of any premises in regard to dances proposed to be promoted in such premises.

• (2) Regulations under this section may make different provisions in relation to different cases and may in particular provide for differentiation between different classes of persons affected by this Act and for the adoption of different procedures for any such different classes.

• (3) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next twenty-one days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

33 Officer responsible in case of body of persons.

33.—(1) The secretary or other officer acting as secretary for the time being of any body of persons shall be answerable in addition to the body for doing all such acts as are required to be done by the body under any of the provisions relating to tax.

• (2) Every such officer as aforesaid may from time to time retain out of any money coming into his hands, on behalf of the body, so much thereof as is sufficient to pay the tax due by the body and shall be indemnified for all such payments made in pursuance of this section.

• (3) Any notice required to be given to a body of persons under any of the provisions relating to tax may be given to the secretary or other officer acting as secretary for the time being of such body.

• (4) In this section “the provisions relating to tax” means—

• (a) the provisions of this Act and regulations, and

• (b) the provisions relating to tax of any subsequent Act.

34 Relief for stock-in-trade held on the specified day.

34.—(1) In computing the amount of tax payable by an accountable person, the following amounts may, subject to subsections (3) and (4), in addition to the deductions authorised by section 12, be deducted on account of stock-in-trade which has been delivered to, and has not been delivered by, him before the specified day and which is held by him at the commencement of that day, or incorporated in other stock-in-trade held by him at such commencement, that is to say:

• (a) in case the accountable person was, immediately before the specified day, not registered for turnover tax under the provisions of section 49 of the Finance Act, 1963, nor required under the provisions of that section to furnish the particulars specified for registration, and was not registered for wholesale tax under the provisions of section 4 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966, nor required under the provisions of that section to furnish the particulars specified for registration, an amount equal to the sum of the amounts which he would be liable to pay on account of turnover tax and wholesale tax if,

• (i) he had been accountable for each of those taxes,

• (ii) he had on the day immediately preceding the specified day sold the whole of his stock-in-trade aforesaid in the course of business to a person who was carrying on the same activities as his own and who had not given him, in accordance with section 50 of the Finance Act, 1963, a statement in writing quoting the turnover tax registration number of the person nor given him, in accordance with section 5 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966, a statement in writing quoting the wholesale tax registration number of the person, and

• (iii) he had on the said day immediately preceding the specified day received from the person mentioned in subparagraph (ii) payment for the stock-in-trade so deemed to have been sold of an amount equal to the cost to the accountable person of such stock or the market value thereof, whichever is the lower, and

• (b) in case, immediately before the specified day the accountable person was registered for turnover tax under the provisions of section 49 of the Finance Act, 1963, or required under the provisions of that section to furnish the particulars specified for registration, but was not registered for wholesale tax under the provisions of section 4 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966, nor required under the provisions of that section to furnish the particulars specified for registration, an amount equal to the amount of wholesale tax which he would be liable to pay if,

• (i) he had been an accountable person for the purposes of wholesale tax,

• (ii) he had on the day immediately preceding the specified day sold the whole of his stock-in-trade aforesaid in the course of business to a person who was carrying on the same activities as his own and who had in accordance with section 50 of the Finance Act, 1963, given him a statement in writing quoting the registration number of the person but had not given him, in accordance with section 5 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966, a statement in writing quoting the wholesale tax registration number of such person, and

• (iii) he had on the said day immediately preceding the specified day received from the person mentioned in subparagraph (ii) payment for the stock-in-trade so deemed to have been sold of an amount equal to the cost to the accountable person of such stock or the market value thereof, whichever is the lower.

• (2) Where an accountable person—

• (a) is not such a person as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) but was such a person at any time during the year ended the day immediately preceding the specified day or

• (b) is such a person as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) and was such a person during a part of the year ended the day immediately preceding the specified day but was not such a person during another part of that year,

the Revenue Commissioners may allow such deduction or make such restriction in the deduction which would otherwise be allowable as in their opinion is just and reasonable having regard to the nature of the business carried on, the period during the year ended on the day immediately preceding the specified day during which the business was carried on and the period during the said year during which the person was such a person as is mentioned in the said paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1).

• (3) A claim for a deduction under this section shall be made in accordance with regulations and the amount authorised to be deducted may be deducted by equal instalments in computing the amount of tax payable in respect of each of the taxable periods beginning on the first day of the first and second taxable periods next following that in which the specified day occurs.

• (4) No deduction shall be granted under this section for any amount which is referable to turnover tax or wholesale tax on immovable goods on the delivery of which tax is, by virtue of section 4 (6), not chargeable or to wholesale tax on newspapers or periodicals, secondhand goods or any goods of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule.

• (5) In this section—

“stock-in-trade” means, in relation to any person, goods which are either—

• (a) movable goods of a kind that are delivered by the person in the ordinary course of his business and are actually held for delivery or would be so held if they were mature or if their manufacture, preparation or construction were complete, or

• (b) materials incorporated in immovable goods of a kind that are delivered by the person in the ordinary course of his business and that have not been delivered by him since the goods were developed, but are actually held for delivery or would be so held if their development were complete, or

• (c) consumable materials incorporated in immovable goods by the person in the course of a business consisting of the rendering of a service of constructing, repairing, painting or decorating immovable goods where that service has not been completed, or

• (d) materials which have not been incorporated in goods and are such as are used by the person in the manufacture or construction of goods of a kind that are delivered by the person in the ordinary course of his business or, where his ordinary business consists of repairing, painting or decorating immovable goods, are used by him as consumable materials in the course of that business;

materials referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “stock-in-trade” shall, for the purposes of subsection (1), be regarded as having been delivered to the same extent as the immovable goods into which they have been incorporated can be regarded as having been delivered;

materials referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of “stock-in-trade” shall be regarded as having been delivered to the extent that the service in relation to which they have been used has been rendered;

“cost” means, in relation to stock-in-trade, the total of the money payable by the person for the delivery of the stock, including any addition made for turnover tax or wholesale tax, but excluding any discount or allowance deducted or deductible on payment for the stock.

35 Special provisions for adjustment and recovery of consideration.

35.—(1) (a) Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of the provisions relating to turnover tax and wholesale tax, sums due on account of turnover tax or wholesale tax under a contract entered into before the specified day, together with any additional sums which might be recoverable by virtue of the provisions of section 9 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966, section 7 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1968, section 58 of the Finance Act, 1969, section 51 of the Finance Act, 1970, or section 4 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1970, shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, but subject to subsection (2), be recoverable as if the said provisions relating to turnover tax and wholesale tax had not been repealed.

• (b) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii), where, under an agreement made before the specified day, an accountable person delivers goods or renders services on or after that day in such circumstances that tax is chargeable, the consideration provided for under the agreement shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be adjusted by excluding therefrom the amount, if any, included on account of turnover tax or wholesale tax or both of those taxes, as the case may be, and including therein an amount equal to the amount of the tax so chargeable, and the consideration as so adjusted shall be deemed to be the consideration provided for under the agreement.

• (ii) The consideration provided for under an agreement for the delivery of immovable goods or the rendering of a service consisting of a development made before the specified day shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, be deemed, for the purposes of this paragraph, to include an amount of turnover tax and wholesale tax combined equal to the amount of tax chargeable in respect of the transaction.

• (c) Where, under an agreement made before the specified day, a person, other than an accountable person, delivers goods or renders services on or after that day to another person (in this paragraph referred to as the buyer) in such circumstances that the buyer is, or would, if he were an accountable person, be entitled under section 13 to treat as tax deductible under section 12 such amount of the consideration for such delivery or rendering as is specified in subsection (1) of the said section 13, the consideration provided for under the agreement shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, be increased by that amount.

• (2) Where, in relation to a delivery of goods or a rendering of services by an accountable person, the person issues an invoice in which the tax chargeable in respect of the transaction is stated separately, the tax so stated shall, for the purpose of its recovery, be deemed to be part of the consideration for the transaction and shall be recoverable accordingly by the person:

Provided that, if the invoice is issued pursuant to section 17 (1), this subsection shall not apply unless it is in the form and contains the particulars specified by regulations.

36 Special provisions for deliveries made prior to the specified day.

36.—Notwithstanding anything in this Act, where, in relation to goods of any kind the consideration for the delivery of which would be chargeable at a particular rate if delivered on or after the specified day, the total consideration in respect of deliveries made during the period of three months ended on the day immediately preceding the specified day by a person, other than a person authorised under section 14 to account for tax in respect of the taxable period commencing on the specified day on the basis of moneys actually received, exceeds by more than 10 per cent. the moneys received during that period in respect of sales of goods of that kind, the excess shall, unless the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct, be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be the consideration for the delivery of goods of that kind and the delivery shall be deemed, for those purposes, to have been made on the specified day.

37 Substitution of agent, etc., for person not resident in State.

37.—Where a person who is accountable for any tax, or on whom any duties are imposed by this Act or regulations, is not residing in the State, the Revenue Commissioners may, by notice in writing served on any agent, manager or factor, who is residing in the State and has acted on behalf of that person in the matters by reference to which that person is accountable or those duties are imposed, direct that he shall be substituted for that person as the person accountable for any such tax due in respect of transactions effected after the date of the service of the notice or that he shall be under an obligation to discharge any such duties arising after such date and, upon such direction having been served, he shall stand substituted accordingly and shall be subject to the same penalty as if he were the person who is accountable for the tax or on whom the duties are imposed.

38 Extension of certain Acts.

38.—(1) Section 1 of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1927, is hereby amended by the insertion of “and value-added tax” before “but no other tax or duty”.

• (2) Section 1 of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957, is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (gg) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1963) after “turnover tax” of “or value-added tax”, but no order shall be made under that Act for the purposes of increasing any of the rates of tax or extending the classes of activities or goods in respect of which tax is for the time being chargeable.

• (3) Section 39 of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act, 1890, is hereby amended by the insertion of “value-added tax,” before “stamp duties”.

• (4) The First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, shall have effect as if the following exemption were inserted therein under the heading “Bill of Exchange or Promissory Note”:

“Bill drawn on any form supplied by the Revenue Commissioners for the purpose of remitting amounts of value-added tax”.

39 Consequential adjustments in regard to capital allowances.

39.—(1) In computing for any of the purposes of Parts XIII to XVIII inclusive of the Income Tax Act, 1967, or of section 22 of the Finance Act, 1971, the cost to a person of any machinery and plant or the amount of expenditure incurred by him, no account shall be taken of any amount included in such cost or expenditure for tax in respect of which the person may claim a deduction under section 12.

• (2) In calculating for any of the purposes of Part XVI of the Income Tax Act, 1967, the amount of sale, insurance, salvage or compensation moneys to be taken into account in computing a balancing allowance or balancing charge to be made to or on a person, no account shall be taken of the amount of tax (if any) chargeable to the person in respect of those moneys.

40 Increase of excise duty on betting.

40.—The duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926, shall (subject and without prejudice to the provisions of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931) be charged, levied and paid on bets entered into on or after the specified day at the rate of fifteen per cent. of the amount of the bet in lieu of the rate of ten per cent. mentioned in section 13 of the Finance Act, 1956.

41 Repeals.

41.—Each enactment specified in column (2) of the Fifth Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule in relation to moneys received on or after the specified day and as on and from the said specified day in relation to goods imported into the State.

42 Collection of tax.

42.—Tax shall be paid to and collected and levied by the Collector-General.

43 Care and management of tax.

43.—Tax is hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

44 Short title.

44.—This Act may be cited as the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972.

FIRST SCHEDULE Exempted Activities

• (i) Supply of stocks, shares and other securities;

• (ii) supply of unused Irish postal, fiscal or social insurance stamps; or other stamps, coupons or tokens when supplied as things in action for a money consideration which is charged separately from the consideration for any goods or other services supplied in conjunction with the supply of such things in action and which is reasonable having regard to the exchange value of such things in action;

• (iii) delivery of water by local authorities;

• (iv) letting of immovable goods with the exception of—

• (a) letting of machinery or business installations when let separately from any other immovable goods of which such machinery or installations form part;

• (b) letting in the course of carrying on a hotel business; and

• (c) provision of parking accommodation for vehicles by the operators of car parks;

• (v) provision of board and lodging otherwise than in the course of carrying on a hotel business;

• (vi) services provided by the State or by a local authority other than the construction, repair, maintenance and improvement of roads, harbours and sewerage works;

• (vii) services given in return for wages and salaries in respect of which income tax is chargeable under Schedule E of the Income Tax Act, 1967;

• (viii) professional services of a medical, dental, optical or educational nature other than services rendered in the course of carrying on a business which consists in whole or in part of selling goods;

• (ix) services rendered by hospitals, nursing homes, schools and similar establishments;

• (x) services rendered in the course of their profession by solicitors, accountants, actuaries and veterinary surgeons;

• (xi) services rendered in the course of their profession by barristers;

• (xii) agency services in regard to—

• (a) the arrangement of passenger transport or accommodation for persons,

• (b) the delivery of goods sold by a house agent, or by an auctioneer in such circumstances that the goods are not regarded as delivered by the auctioneer,

• (c) the collection of debts, rents or insurance premiums, and

• (d) the rendering of other exempt services;

• (xiii) banking and insurance services;

• (xiv) lending money or affording credit otherwise than by means of hire-purchase or credit-sale transactions;

• (xv) the national broadcasting and television services, excluding advertising;

• (xvi) transport in the State of passengers and their accompanying baggage and the hiring (in this paragraph referred to as the current hiring) to a person of a motor vehicle, designed and constructed for the conveyance of persons by road, under a contract, other than a contract of a kind referred to in section 3 (1) (b), for any term or part of a term which when added to the term of any such hiring (whether of the same or another motor vehicle) to the same person during the period of 12 months ending on the date of the commencement of the current hiring does not exceed 5 weeks;

• (xvii) betting;

• (xviii) the issue of tickets or coupons for the purpose of a lottery;

• (xix) admissions to zoological gardens;

• (xx) the promotion of and admissions to sporting events, agricultural, commercial or industrial fairs, shows or exhibitions;

• (xxi) the collection, storage and supply of human blood;

• (xxii) funeral undertaking;

• (xxiii) valuation services rendered by an auctioneer, house agent or chartered surveyor.

SECOND SCHEDULE Goods and Services Chargeable at the Rate of Zero per cent.

• (i) Goods delivered—

• (a) outside the State, or

• (b) inside the State but subject to a condition that they are to be transported directly by or on behalf of the person making the delivery—

• (I) outside the State, or

• (II) to a registered person within the customs-free airport;

• (ii) services rendered outside the State;

• (iii) the carriage of goods in the State by or on behalf of a person in execution of a contract to transfer the goods to or from a place outside the State;

• (iv) the provision of docking, landing, loading or unloading facilities, including customs clearance, directly in connection with the disembarkation or embarkation of passengers or the importation or exportation of goods;

• (v) goods delivered on board ships or aircraft going to places outside the State; and the repairing and servicing of ships and aircraft engaged in international commercial transport of passengers and goods;

• (vi) fishing nets, and sections thereof, of a kind commonly used by commercial fishermen for the purposes of their occupation and not commonly used for any other purpose;

• (vii) any feeding stuff (within the meaning of the Fertilisers, Feeding Stuffs and Mineral Mixtures Act, 1955), compound feeding stuff (within the meaning of the said Act) or mineral mixture (within the meaning of the said Act)—

• (a) which is delivered in units of not less than 10 kilograms and is not packaged, sold or otherwise designated for the use of dogs, cats, cage birds or domestic pets, and

• (b) the sale or manufacture for sale of which is not prohibited under section 4 or 6 of the said Act;

• (viii) fertiliser (within the meaning of the Fertilisers, Feeding Stuffs and Mineral Mixtures Act, 1955) which is delivered in units of not less than 10 kilograms and the sale or manufacture for sale of which is not prohibited under section 4 or 6 of the said Act;

• (ix) services provided by the Commissioners of Irish Lights in connection with the operation of lightships, lighthouses or other navigational aids; and

• (x) the construction, repair, maintenance and improvement of roads, harbours and sewerage works by the State, local authorities or harbour authorities.

THIRD SCHEDULE

Sections 11 (1) (a) (1) (a).

PART I Goods Chargeable at the Rate of 5.26 per cent.

• (i) Animal medicine and feeding stuff other than—

• (a) medicine or feeding stuff which is packaged, sold or otherwise designated for the use of dogs, cats, cage birds or domestic pets, and

• (b) feeding stuff of a kind specified in paragraph (vii) of the Second Schedule;

• (ii) animal and vegetable produce in an unprocessed state, such as wool, horsehair, bristles, feathers, hides, skins, carcases, roots, plants and cereals;

• (iii) fertiliser other than fertiliser of a kind specified in paragraph (viii) of the Second Schedule;

• (iv) live animals;

• (v) machinery, plant or equipment of a kind commonly used by farmers or fishermen in the State for the purposes of their occupation and not commonly used for any other purpose;

• (vi) seeds, plants, trees, spores, bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes of a kind used for sowing;

• (vii) printed books and booklets;

• (viii) newspapers and periodicals;

• (ix) maps, atlases and globes;

• (x) materials commonly used in the construction of buildings (including haybarns, harbours, bridges and roads) being—

• (a) blocks, beams, piles, pillars, posts, slabs, lintels, cills and members of concrete, whether reinforced or not,

• (b) cement, concrete, lime, mortar, plaster, stone and bricks,

• (c) dampcourse felts and other materials normally supplied as dampcourses,

• (d) earth, sand and gravel,

• (e) floor and wall tiles of concrete or clay,

• (f) flue liners and chimney pots,

• (g) glass in the sheet, but not including mirrors,

• (h) insulation material in the form of sheets, slabs or rolls,

• (i) nails, screws, bolts, nuts, hinges, locks, fasteners and fittings for doors, windows and tubing,

• (j) paint and distemper,

• (k) plaster board,

• (l) polyethylene film of a kind commonly used by builders or farmers for the purposes of their occupation,

• (m) roofing felts and semi-solid substances used as a substitute for roofing felts,

• (n) roofing tiles, including ridge and hip tiles and slates,

• (o) sheets of metal or of other material, other than glass, not further worked than painted, sprayed or similarly finished,

• (p) steel or aluminium in the form of angles, tees, joists, channels, bars, wire, extrusions or plate, not further worked than galvanised, sprayed, or similarly finished,

• (q) tar, asphalt, bitumen and pitch,

• (r) timber, including plywood, blockboard, laminated wood, reconstituted wood and wood veneer sold in the form of planks, sheets or beams and not further worked than sawn lengthwise, planed, moulded, tongued, grooved or v-sheeted,

• (s) tubing and gutters of metal, clay, cement, rubber, plastic or similar material of a kind normally supplied for structural purposes or for use as a conduit for cable, liquids, steam, gases or sewage;

• (xi) clothing, excluding handkerchiefs;

• (xii) fabrics, yarn and thread of a kind normally used in the manufacture of clothing, including elastics, tape and padding materials in the form supplied for the manufacture of clothing;

• (xiii) sole and upper leather of a kind supplied for the manufacture and repair of footwear, and also soles, heels and insoles of any material;

• (xiv) calculating machines, accounting machines, cash registers, postage franking machines and similar machines incorporating a calculating device, automatic data processing machines and units thereof, magnetic and optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, parts suitable for use solely or principally with any of the machines specified in this paragraph;

• (xv) food and drink for human consumption;

• (xvi) medicines for human use excluding goods which are, or are described or marketed as, soaps, shampoos, detergents, bleaches, germicides, insecticides, antiseptics or disinfectants;

• (xvii) medical equipment and appliances being—

• (a) apparatus based on the use of x-rays or of the radiations from radio-active substances (including radiography and radiotherapy apparatus),

• (b) furniture designed exclusively for medical, dental, surgical, or veterinary use (for example, operating tables and hospital beds with mechanical fittings),

• (c) invalid carriages, and other vehicles of a kind designed for use by invalids or infirm persons,

• (d) mechano-therapy appliances, massage apparatus, oxygen therapy apparatus, artificial respiration and similar apparatus and breathing appliances, excluding articles of a kind not designed exclusively for medical use,

• (e) medical, dental, surgical and veterinary instruments and appliances of a kind used solely in professional practice either to make a diagnosis or to prevent or treat an illness or to operate,

• (f) orthopaedic appliances, surgical belts, trusses and the like; artificial limbs, eyes, teeth and other artificial parts of the body; deaf aids, splints and other fracture appliances,

• (g) parts or accessories suitable for use solely or principally with any of the goods in the foregoing subparagraphs of this paragraph,

• (h) diagnostic reagents,

• (i) x-ray film, and opacifying preparations for x-ray examinations,

• (j) wadding, gauze, bandages and similar goods (for example, dressings, adhesive plasters, poultices) and surgical sutures;

• (xviii) railway rolling stock and parts thereof; railway and tramway track fixtures; traffic signalling equipment (including fog signals), railway and tramway track construction material of iron or steel including rails, check-rails, switch blades, crossings (or frogs), crossing pieces, point rods, rack rails, sleepers, fish plates, chairs, chair wedges, sole plates, rail chips, bedplates and ties;

• (xix) mechanically propelled road vehicles, other than vehicles of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule;

• (xx) trailers, excluding caravans, mobile homes and trailer tents;

• (xxi) ships, boats or other vessels other than—

• (a) ships, boats or other vessels designed and constructed for the conveyance of passengers and not exceeding one hundred tons gross, and

• (b) sports and pleasure craft of all descriptions including yachts, cabin cruisers, dinghies, canoes, skiffs and racing boats;

• (xxii) tobacco;

• (xxiii) fuel;

• (xxiv) hydrocarbon oils (including greases);

• (xxv) tyres, tyre cases, interchangeable tyre treads, inner tubes and tyre flaps, for wheels of all kinds;

• (xxvi) spare parts for goods of a kind specified in paragraphs (v) and (xx) and for mechanically propelled road vehicles, bicycles and boats;

• (xxvii) bodies and chassis designed for mechanically propelled road vehicles other than for motor vehicles of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule;

• (xxviii) second-hand movable goods, other than goods of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule;

• (xxix) immovable goods;

• (xxx) chemicals which are specifically designated for use in agriculture, being seed dressings, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, rodenticides, verminicides, soil sterilants, growth regulators, disinfectants or dairy detergents, but excluding chemicals which are packaged, sold or otherwise designated for human or domestic use;

• (xxxi) goods (other than hand tools) of any of the following descriptions, namely:

• (a) lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, lifts, hoists, winches, transporter cranes, jacks and pulley tackle),

• (b) excavating, levelling, boring and extracting machinery for earth, minerals or ores (for example, bulldozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, scrapers, levellers and turf cutters),

• (c) machines designed, constructed and intended for use in spreading or finishing asphalt, bitumen, tar, tarmacadam or concrete,

• (d) works trucks that are mechanically propelled and are of the kind used in factories or warehouses for transport or handling of goods over short distances, and

• (e) equipment and parts that are specially designed for use with any of the goods specified in subparagraphs (a) to (d) and are of a kind not normally used for any other purpose.

PART II Services Chargeable at the Rate of 5.26 per cent.

• (i) Services other than the promotion of dances and the hiring or letting of goods;

• (ii) the hiring (in this paragraph referred to as the current hiring) to a person of—

• (a) goods of any kind specified in subparagraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (xxi) of Part I, or

• (b) a caravan, mobile home or trailer tent,

under a contract, other than a contract of a kind referred to in section 3 (1) (b) for any term or part of a term which when added to the term of any such hiring (whether of the same goods or of other goods of the same kind) to the same person, during the period of 12 months ending on the date of the commencement of the current hiring does not exceed 5 weeks;

• (iii) the hiring of goods of a kind on the delivery of which, if paragraph (xxviii) of Part I of this Schedule were disregarded, tax would be chargeable at the rate of 5·26 per cent.;

• (iv) the hiring of goods of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule;

• (v) the hiring of cinematograph films;

• (vi) the letting of immovable goods.

FOURTH SCHEDULE Goods Chargeable at the Rate of 30·26 per cent.

• (i) Motor vehicles designed and constructed for the conveyance of persons by road including sports motor vehicles, estate cars, station wagons, motor cycles, motor scooters, mopeds and auto cycles, but not including vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of more than sixteen persons (inclusive of the driver), invalid carriages and other vehicles of a type designed for use by invalids or infirm persons;

• (ii) radio receiving sets and television receiving sets of the domestic or portable type including sets suitable for use in road vehicles;

• (iii) gramophones, radiogramophones, record reproducers;

• (iv) gramophone records.

FIFTH SCHEDULE Enactments Repealed

Number and Year	Short Title	Extent of Repeal
No. 23 of 1963	Finance Act, 1963	Section 41 and Part VI
No. 22 of 1965	Finance Act, 1965	Part VI
No. 17 of 1966	Finance Act, 1966	Part VI
No. 22 of 1966	Finance (No. 2) Act, 1966	The whole Act
No. 33 of 1968	Finance Act, 1968	Parts V and VI
No. 37 of 1968	Finance (No. 2) Act, 1968	Sections 6 and 7
No. 21 of 1969	Finance Act, 1969	Parts VII and VIII
No. 14 of 1970	Finance Act, 1970	Part V
No. 25 of 1970	Finance (No. 2) Act, 1970	Sections 3 and 4