Finance Act 2011

(iii) pending investment in eligible shares, any moneys subscribed for the purchase of shares are to be placed on deposit in a separate account with a bank licensed to transact business in the State,

(iv) any amounts received by means of dividends or interest are, subject to a commission in respect of management expenses at a rate not exceeding a rate which shall be specified in the deed of trust under which the fund has been established, to be paid without undue delay to the participants,

(v) any charges to be made by means of management or other expenses in connection with the establishment, the running, the winding down or the termination of the fund shall be at a rate not exceeding a rate which shall be specified in the deed of trust under which the fund is established,

(vi) audited accounts of the fund are submitted annually to the Revenue Commissioners as soon as may be after the end of each period for which accounts of the fund are made up,

(vii) the managers, the trustees of the fund and any of their associates are not for the time being connected either directly or indirectly with any company whose shares comprise part of the fund,

(viii) any discounts on eligible shares received by the trustees or managers of the fund are accepted solely for the benefit of the participants,

(ix) the fund is a closed fund and the closing date for participation precedes the making of the first investment,

(x) if a limit is placed on the size of the fund or a minimum amount for investment is stipulated, any subscriptions not accepted are to be returned without undue delay, and

(xi) no participant is allowed to have any shares in any company in which the fund has invested transferred into his or her name until 3 years have elapsed from the date of the issue of the shares to the fund.

(9) The Revenue Commissioners may nominate in writing an inspector or other officer to perform any acts and discharge any functions authorised by this Part to be performed or discharged by the Revenue Commissioners.

Reporting of relief.

507.— (1) A person (being a qualifying company or the managers of a designated fund) shall, when required to do so by notice in writing by the Revenue Commissioners, furnish the Revenue Commissioners within such time as may be specified in the notice (not being less than 30 days) with such information, in relation to the relief provided for in this Part, as the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require from that person for the purpose of the annual reports required in accordance with section 7.1 of the Community Guidelines on State Aid to Promote Risk Capital Investments in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises [^5].

(2) Notwithstanding any obligation as to secrecy imposed on them by the Tax Acts or the Official Secrets Act 1963, the Revenue Commissioners may furnish the information obtained in accordance with subsection (1) to the person submitting the annual reports referred to in that subsection.

(3) The Revenue Commissioners may nominate any of their officers to discharge any function authorised by this section to be discharged by the Revenue Commissioners.

(4) No obligation as to secrecy imposed by statute or otherwise shall preclude the Revenue Commissioners from publishing information obtained by them in accordance with subsection (1).

(5) Where any person fails to comply with a requirement to furnish the information in accordance with subsection (1), that person shall be liable to a penalty of €2,000 and, if that failure continues after the period of 30 days referred to in that subsection, a further penalty of €50 for each day on which the failure so continues.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following for Schedule 10:

“SCHEDULE 10

Section 505

Finance for Trade of Subsidiary

Individuals Qualifying for Relief

(2) Without prejudice to section 492 as it applies in accordance with subparagraph (1), an individual shall be treated as connected with a company if—

(a) he or she has at any time in the relevant period had control (within the meaning of section 11) of another company which has since that time and before the end of the relevant period become a subsidiary of the company, or

(b) he or she directly or indirectly possesses or is entitled to acquire any loan capital of a subsidiary of that company.

(3) Subsections (5) and (9) of section 492 shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph.

Value Received

(2) In section 499(1), references to the company (except the first such reference) shall include references to a company which during the relevant period is a subsidiary of the company, whether it becomes a subsidiary before or after the repayment, redemption, repurchase or payment referred to in that subsection.

Information

and

(c) in Schedule 25B by inserting the following after the matter set out opposite reference number 47:

“47A.	Section 489(2)(a) (Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme).	The total amount deducted from the individual’s total income for the tax year under section 489(2)(a) (as inserted by the Finance Act 2011) in respect of any amount subscribed for eligible shares by the individual in the tax year, including any amount deducted from the individual’s total income for that year by virtue of any amount of relief carried forward to that year under subsection (3) or (4) of section 490.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may by order or orders appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

Chapter 5 Corporation Tax

34. Amendment of section 486C (relief from tax for certain start-up companies) of Principal Act.

34.— (1) Section 486C of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following definition before the definition of “Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006”:

“ ‘associated company’ shall be construed in accordance with section 432;”,

(b) in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “EEA State”:

“ ‘Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme’ means the scheme provided for in the Social Welfare (Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 294 of 2010);

‘Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance’ means the contribution specified in section 13(2)(d) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;”,

(c) in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “relevant corporation tax”:

“ ‘relevant limit’ means, subject to subsection (6), €5,000;”,

(d) in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “relevant period”:

“ ‘specified contribution’, in relation to an employee or director of a company, means, subject to paragraph (c), the lesser of—

(i) the amount of Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance paid by the company in an accounting period in respect of that employee or director, or which would have been so paid if relief under the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme did not apply, and

(ii) the relevant limit;

‘total contribution’ means the lesser of —

(i) the aggregate amount of specified contributions of a company for an accounting period, and

(ii) the lower relevant maximum amount specified in subsection (5);”,

(e) in subsection (1) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(c) In computing a specified contribution for an accounting period of a company which sets up and commences a qualifying trade in 2011, an amount of Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance paid by the company, or which would have been so paid if relief under the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme did not apply, within one month after the end of the accounting period may be treated as Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance paid by the company in that accounting period and, where such an amount is so treated, it shall not be taken into account in computing a specified contribution for any subsequent accounting period.”,

(f) in subsection (2)(a)—

(i) by substituting “, 2010 or 2011” for “or 2010”,

(ii) in subparagraph (iv) by deleting “or”, and

(iii) in subparagraph (v) by substituting “apply, or” for “apply.”,

(g) in subsection (2)(a) by inserting the following after subparagraph (v):

“(vi) the activities of which, if carried on by an associated company of the new company, would form part of a trade carried on by that associated company.”,

(h) in subsection (4)(a)—

(i) by inserting “the aggregate of” after “then”, and

(ii) by substituting the following for “shall be reduced to nil”:

“shall be reduced by the lesser of—

(I) that aggregate, and

(II) the total contribution for the accounting period”,

(iii) in subsection (4)(b) by substituting the following for “shall be reduced to an amount determined by the following formula:”:

“shall be reduced to the greater of—

(i) that aggregate as reduced by the total contribution for the accounting period, and

(ii) an amount determined by the following formula:”,

and

(i) by substituting the following for subsection (6):

“(6) For an accounting period of less than 12 months—

(a) the relevant limit, and

(b) the relevant maximum amounts specified in subsection (5),

shall be proportionately reduced.”.

(2) Subsection (1) has effect in relation to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2011.

35. Credit for foreign tax.

35.— (1) The Principal Act is amended in paragraph 4 of Schedule 24 by inserting the following after subparagraph (5):

“(6) (a) The provisions of subparagraph (5), in relation to the allocation of deductions, shall not apply to relevant trading charges on income.

(b) For the purposes of clause (a) ‘relevant trading charges on income’ has the same meaning as in section 243A.”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall have effect—

(a) for an accounting period of a company for which the return under section 951 of the Principal Act for the purposes of corporation tax is made by the company on or after 7 December 2010, and

(b) for any other accounting period, in relation to any claim to repayment of, or reduction of liability to, corporation tax for that accounting period where such claim is made on or after 7 December 2010.

36. Interest on loans to defray money applied for certain purposes.

36.— (1) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 840:

“840A.— (1) In this section—

‘asset’ means any asset other than—

(a) an asset that is treated by the provisions of section 291A(2) as machinery or plant for the purposes of Chapters 2 and 4 of Part 9, or

(b) an asset acquired as trading stock;

‘trading stock’ has the same meaning as in section 89.

(2) Subject to subsections (3), (6), (7) and (8), in computing the amount of the profits or gains to be charged to corporation tax under Schedule D, no sum shall be deducted in respect of any interest payable on a loan to a company (in this section referred to as the ‘investing company’) used in acquiring assets from a company which, at the time of the acquiring of the assets, was connected with the investing company if the loan is made to the investing company by a person who is connected with the investing company.

(3) Where, in an accounting period, interest is payable by an investing company on a loan to defray money applied in acquiring a trade (in this section referred to as an ‘acquired trade’) which immediately before its acquisition by the investing company was carried on by a company which was not within the charge to corporation tax, then subsection (2) shall not apply to so much of that interest as does not exceed the amount of the profits or gains of the acquired trade for that accounting period which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D.

(4) This section shall apply where a company acquires part of a trade as if that part were a separate trade.

(5) Where the investing company begins to carry on the activities of an acquired trade as part of its trade, then that part of its trade shall for the purposes of subsection (3) be treated as a separate trade and any necessary apportionment shall be made so that profits or gains shall be attributed to the separate trade on a just and reasonable basis and the amount of those profits or gains shall not exceed the amount which would be attributed to a distinct and separate company, engaged in those activities, if it were independent of, and dealing at arm’s length with, the investing company.

(6) (a) Where, in an accounting period, interest is payable by an investing company on a loan to defray money applied in acquiring an asset (in this subsection referred to as an ‘acquired asset’) which is leased by the company for that accounting period in the course of a trade (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned trade’) then, if immediately before that asset was acquired by the investing company it was not in use for the purposes of a trade carried on by a company which was within the charge to corporation tax, subsection (2) shall not apply to so much of that interest as does not exceed the amount of the profits or gains of the first-mentioned trade for that accounting period as is attributable to the acquired asset.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), in arriving at the profits or gains of a trade attributable to an acquired asset, any necessary apportionment shall be made of the expenses and receipts of the trade.

(7) This section shall not apply to interest payable to a company (in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned company’) by an investing company where the sole business of the first-mentioned company is the on-lending to the investing company of moneys which the first-mentioned company has borrowed from persons who are not connected with either or both the first-mentioned company and the investing company.

(8) This section shall not apply to any interest payable by a qualifying company (within the meaning of section 110).

(9) Where, as a part of, or in connection with, any scheme or arrangement for the making of a loan to the investing company by a person (in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned person’) who is not connected with the investing company, another person who is connected with the investing company directly or indirectly makes a loan to, a deposit with, or otherwise provides funds to the first-mentioned person or to a person who is connected with the first-mentioned person, then the loan made to the investing company shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (2) as being a loan made to the investing company by a person with whom it is connected.”.

(2) This section shall apply in respect of a loan made on or after 21 January 2011 other than any such loan made in accordance with a binding written agreement made before that date.

37. Charges on income for corporation tax purposes.

37.— (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 243 by substituting the following for subsection (8):

“(8) Subject to subsection (9), subsection (7) shall not apply to any payment of interest on a loan to a company if—

(a) subject to subsections (2A), (4), (4A) and (4E) of that section, subsection (2) of section 247 applies to the loan, and

(b) the conditions specified in subsection (3) of section 247 are fulfilled.”,

(b) in section 247(1)(a) in the definition of “material interest” by substituting “company;” for “company.”,

(c) in section 247(1)(a) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “material interest”:

“ ‘trading stock’ has the same meaning as in section 89.”,

(d) in section 247(1)(b) by substituting “subsections (4A) and (4E)” for “subsection (4A)”,

(e) in section 247(2) by substituting the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) in lending to a company referred to in paragraph (a) money which is used wholly and exclusively—

(i) where the company is a company which exists wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying on a trade or trades, for the purposes of that trade or those trades,

(ii) where the company is a company whose income consists wholly or mainly of profits or gains chargeable under Case V of Schedule D, in the purchase, improvement or repair of premises to which the profits or gains relate, or

(iii) where the company is a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of stocks, shares or securities of a company referred to in paragraph (a)(i), for the purposes of holding such stocks, shares or securities,

(ba) in lending to a company referred to in paragraph (a) money which is used wholly and exclusively by a connected company—

(i) where the connected company is a company which exists wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying on a trade or trades, for the purposes of that trade or those trades,

(ii) where the connected company is a company whose income consists wholly or mainly of profits or gains chargeable under Case V of Schedule D, in the purchase, improvement or repair of premises to which the profits or gains relate, or

(iii) where the connected company is a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of stocks, shares or securities of a company referred to in paragraph (a)(i), for the purposes of holding such stocks, shares or securities, or”,

(f) in section 247 by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(2A) Subsection (2) shall not apply to a loan to an investing company to defray money applied in subscribing for share capital of another company on the issue of share capital by that other company unless the capital is used by that other company or by a connected company wholly and exclusively—

(a) where the company which uses the capital is a company which exists wholly or mainly for the purpose of carrying on a trade or trades, for the purposes of that trade or those trades,

(b) where the company which uses the capital is a company whose income consists wholly or mainly of profits or gains chargeable under Case V of Schedule D, in the purchase, improvement or repair of premises to which the profits or gains relate, or

(c) where the company which uses the capital is a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of stocks, shares or securities of a company referred to in paragraph (a)(i), for the purposes of holding such stocks, shares or securities.”,

(g) in section 247(3)—

(i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “and, where subsection (2)(ba) applies to the money lent in respect of which the interest is paid, in the connected company” for “or in a connected company”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “and, where subsection (2)(ba) applies to the money lent in respect of which the interest is paid, of the connected company” for “or of a connected company”,

(h) in section 247 by inserting the following after subsection (4D):

“(4E) (a) In this subsection ‘asset’ means any asset other than—

(i) share capital in a company,

(ii) an asset referred to in subsection (4B) which is treated by the provisions of section 291A(2) as plant and machinery for the purposes of Chapters 2 and 4 of Part 9, or

(iii) an asset acquired as trading stock.

(b) Subject to paragraphs (c) to (f), subsection (2) shall not apply to a loan to the investing company to defray money applied in lending to a company money which is used directly or indirectly for the purposes of acquiring an asset from a company which, at the time of the acquiring of the asset, was connected with the investing company if the loan is made to the investing company by a person who is connected with the investing company.

(c) (i) Where, in an accounting period, interest is paid by an investing company on a loan to defray money applied in lending to another company (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘other company’) money which is used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of acquiring a trade (in this subsection referred to as an ‘acquired trade’) which immediately before its acquisition by the other company was carried on by a company which was not within the charge to corporation tax, then paragraph (b) shall not apply to that loan and, notwithstanding subsection (3) and section 243, the amount of the relief to be given in respect of the interest paid in an accounting period by the investing company on the loan shall not exceed the amount of the profits or gains of the other company in respect of the acquired trade for the corresponding period.

(ii) This paragraph shall apply where a company acquires part of a trade as if that part were a separate trade.

(iii) Where the other company begins to carry on the activities of an acquired trade as part of its trade then that part of its trade shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be treated as a separate trade and any necessary apportionment shall be made so that profits or gains shall be attributed to the separate trade on a just and reasonable basis and the amount of those profits or gains shall not exceed the amount which would be attributed to a distinct and separate company, engaged in those activities, if it were independent of, and dealing at arm’s length with, the investing company.

(d) (i) Where, in an accounting period, interest is paid by an investing company on a loan to defray money applied in lending to another company (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘other company’) money which is used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of acquiring an asset (in this paragraph referred to as an ‘acquired asset’) which is leased by the other company for that accounting period in the course of a trade (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned trade’) then, if immediately before that asset was acquired by the other company it was not in use for the purposes of a trade carried on by a company which was within the charge to corporation tax, paragraph (b) shall not apply to that loan and, notwithstanding subsection (3) and section 243, the amount of the relief to be given in respect of the interest paid in the accounting period by the investing company on the loan shall not exceed the amount of the profits or gains of the first-mentioned trade for the corresponding period as is attributable to the acquired asset.

(ii) For the purposes of subparagraph (i), in arriving at the profits or gains of a trade attributable to an acquired asset, any necessary apportionment shall be made of the expenses and receipts of the trade.

(e) For the purposes of computing any restriction of relief to be given for an accounting period required by paragraphs (c) and (d)—

(i) where an accounting period of the investing company and an accounting period of the other company coincide then the profits or gains of the other company in respect of the acquired trade for the corresponding period shall be the amount of the profits or gains of the acquired trade, for that accounting period, which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D, and

(ii) (I) any accounting period of the other company which, without coinciding with that accounting period, falls wholly or partly within an accounting period of the investing company shall correspond to that accounting period, and

(II) where an accounting period of the investing company and an accounting period of the other company do not coincide then the profits or gains of the other company in respect of the acquired trade for the corresponding period shall be the aggregate of the profits or gains in respect of the acquired trade which are chargeable to corporation tax under Case I of Schedule D for accounting periods of the other company that correspond to the accounting period of the investing company as reduced in each case by applying the fraction—

A

B

(if the fraction is less than unity)

where—

A is the length of the period common to the two accounting periods, and

B is the length of the accounting period of the other company.

(f) Where, as a part of, or in connection with, any scheme or arrangement for the making of a loan to the investing company by a person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned person’) who is not connected with the investing company, another person who is connected with the investing company directly or indirectly makes a loan to, a deposit with, or otherwise provides funds to the first-mentioned person or to a person who is connected with the first-mentioned person, then the loan made to the investing company shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (a) as being a loan made to the investing company by a person with whom it is connected.

(4F) (a) In this subsection ‘relevant period’, in relation to interest paid by an investing company, means the period to which that interest relates.

(b) Where a loan to an investing company, to which subsection (2) applies, has been applied in lending to another company (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘other company’) not within the charge to corporation tax money which is used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade or business of the other company then, notwithstanding subsection (3) and section 243, the amount of the relief to be given in respect of so much of the interest paid (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘interest paid’) in an accounting period by the investing company on the loan, as exceeds the amount (including a nil amount) of any interest, arising to the investing company on the money lent to the other company, for the relevant period, shall not exceed the amount by which the interest paid exceeds the interest (if any) arising to the other company in that relevant period in respect of the money so used.

(c) Where a loan to an investing company, to which subsection (2) applies, has been applied in lending to another company (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘other company’) money which is used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade or business of a connected company not within the charge to corporation tax then, notwithstanding subsection (3) and section 243—

(i) where the other company is within the charge to corporation tax, the amount of the relief to be given in respect of so much of the interest paid (referred to in this subparagraph as the ‘interest paid’) in an accounting period by the investing company on the loan, as exceeds the amount (including a nil amount) of any interest, arising to the investing company on the money lent to the other company, for the relevant period, shall not exceed the amount by which the interest paid exceeds the interest (if any) arising to the connected company in that relevant period in respect of the money so used, and

(ii) where the other company is not within the charge to corporation tax, the amount of the relief to be given in respect of so much of the interest paid (referred to in this subparagraph as the ‘interest paid’) in an accounting period by the investing company on the loan, as exceeds the amount (including a nil amount) of any interest, arising to the investing company on the money lent to the other company, for the relevant period, shall not exceed the amount by which the interest paid exceeds the greater of—

(I) the interest (if any) receivable by the other company from the connected company (in respect of the use by the other company of the money lent to it by the investing company), and

(II) the interest receivable by the connected company in that relevant period in respect of the money so used.

(4G) Where a loan to an investing company, to which subsection (2) applies, has been applied in lending to a company money which is used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade of the company or of a connected company, the interest on the loan shall be treated for the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 12 as relevant trading charges on income within the meaning of section 243A.”,

and

(i) in section 249(2) by inserting the following after paragraph (aa):

“(ab) (i) Where—

(I) a company (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned company’) issues shares to the company concerned in exchange for shares (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘original shares’) in another company,

(II) section 584 is applied or, but for section 626B, would be applied to the exchange by section 586, and

(III) the investing company, in the absence of an election under this subsection, would be deemed by paragraph (aa) to have, by virtue of the exchange, recovered an amount of capital from the company concerned,

then the investing company may elect that paragraph (aa) shall not so apply.

(ii) Where the investing company makes an election in accordance with subparagraph (i), then the first-mentioned company shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (aa) as if it were the company concerned if the effect of so treating it is that the investing company is deemed by paragraph (aa)(i) to have recovered an amount of capital equal to the amount of capital treated by paragraph (aa)(ii)(I) as recovered in respect of the original shares by that company.

(iii) An election under this paragraph shall be included by the investing company with the return required under section 951 for the accounting period in which the original shares are exchanged.”.

(2) This section shall apply in respect of a loan made on or after 21 January 2011 other than any such loan made in accordance with a binding written agreement made before that date.

38. Amendment of section 285A (acceleration of wear and tear allowances for certain energy-efficient equipment) of Principal Act.

38.— Section 285A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) in the definition of “relevant period” by substituting “ending on 31 December 2014” for “ending 3 years after that date”.

39. Amendment of section 221 (certain payments to National Co-operative Farm Relief Services Ltd and certain payments made to its members) of Principal Act.

39.— Section 221 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(3) This section does not apply to any grant, payment, transfer or transmission of moneys referred to in subsection (2) which is made on or after 1 January 2011.”.

40. Amendment of section 110 (securitisation) of Principal Act.

40.— (1) Section 110(1) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “authorised officer”:

“ ‘carbon offsets’ means—

(a) an allowance, permit, licence or right to emit during a specified period, a specified amount of carbon dioxide or any other greenhouse gas as defined in Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 [^1] establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 [^2], where such allowance, permit, licence or right is issued by a State or by an inter-governmental or supra-national institution pursuant to a scheme which—

(i) imposes limitations on the emission of such greenhouse gases, and

(ii) allows the transfer for value of such allowances, permits, licences or rights,

(b) an allowance, permit, licence or right to emit during a specified period, a specified amount of carbon dioxide or any other recognised greenhouse gas under a voluntary scheme sponsored by a State or by an inter-governmental institution, or regulated commercial enterprise, where such allowance, permit, licence or right is subject to recognised independent periodic verification, monitoring and reporting, or

(c) any right that is directly attributable to an allowance, permit, licence or right to emit within paragraph (a) or (b);

‘commodities’ means tangible assets (other than currency, securities, debts or other assets of a financial nature) which are dealt in on a recognised commodity exchange;”,

(b) by substituting the following for the definition of “qualifying asset”:

“ ‘qualifying asset’ means an asset which consists of, or of an interest (including a partnership interest) in—

(a) a financial asset,

(b) commodities, or

(c) plant and machinery;”,

(c) in the definition of “financial asset” by substituting the following for paragraph (i):

“(i) carbon offsets, and”,

(d) by deleting the definition of “greenhouse gas emissions allowance”,

(e) in the definition of “qualifying company” by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) which carries on in the State a business of holding, managing or both the holding and managing of qualifying assets, including, in the case of plant and machinery acquired by the qualifying company, a business of leasing that plant and machinery,”,

(f) in the definition of “qualifying company” by substituting “by virtue of subsections (4A) and (5);” for “by virtue of subsection (5).”, and

(g) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “qualifying company”:

“ ‘quoted Eurobond’ has the same meaning as in section 64;

‘return agreement’, in relation to a qualifying company, means a specified agreement whereby payments due under the specified agreement are dependent on the results of the company’s business or any part of the company’s business;

‘specified instrument’ means a quoted Eurobond or wholesale debt instrument;

‘specified person’, in relation to a qualifying company, means—

(a) a company which directly or indirectly—

(i) controls the qualifying company,

(ii) is controlled by the qualifying company, or

(iii) is controlled by a third company which also directly or indirectly controls the qualifying company,

where ‘controls’ and ‘controlled’ have the same meanings as they would have by the application of section 11 to this paragraph, or

(b) a person, or persons who are connected with each other—

(i) from whom assets were acquired, or

(ii) to whom the qualifying company has made loans or advances, or

(iii) with whom the qualifying company has entered into specified agreements,

where the aggregate value of such assets, loans, advances or agreements represents not less than 75 per cent of the aggregate value of the qualifying assets of the qualifying company;

‘specified agreement’ means any agreement, arrangement or understanding that—

(a) provides for the exchange, on a fixed or contingent basis, of one or more payments based on the value, rate or amount of one or more interest or other rates, currencies, commodities, securities, instruments of indebtedness, indices, quantitative measures, or other financial or economic interests or property of any kind, or any interest therein or based on the value thereof, and

(b) transfers to a person who is a party to the agreement, arrangement or understanding or to a person connected with that person, in whole or in part, the financial risk associated with a future change in any such value, rate or amount without also conveying a current or future direct or indirect ownership interest in an asset (including any enterprise or investment pool) or liability that incorporates the financial risk so transferred;

‘wholesale debt instrument’ has the same meaning as in section 246A.”.

(2) Section 110 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (4):

“(4) Subject to subsections (4A) and (5), any interest or other distribution which is paid out of the assets of a qualifying company to another person and is so paid in respect of a security referred to in section 130(2)(d)(iii), shall not be a distribution by virtue only of the provisions of that section.”.

(3) Section 110 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(4A) (a) For the purposes of this subsection ‘relevant territory’ and ‘tax’ have the same meanings as in section 246.

(b) Subject to paragraph (c), as respects any interest or other distribution paid by a qualifying company to a person, other than—

(i) a person who is resident in the State, or

(ii) a person, (not being a specified person) who is a pension fund, government body or other person resident in a relevant territory who, under the laws of that territory, is exempted from tax which generally applies to profits, income or gains in that territory,

subsection (4) shall only apply to so much of such interest or other distribution—

(I) as under the laws of a relevant territory, is subject, without any reduction computed by reference to the amount of such interest or other distribution, to a tax which generally applies to profits, income or gains received in that territory, by persons, from sources outside that territory, or

(II) as is a payment from which tax has been deducted at the standard rate in force at the time of the payment in accordance with section 246(2).

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), subsection (4) shall apply to any interest or other distribution paid by a qualifying company in respect of a specified instrument other than so much of such interest or other distribution as is paid to a specified person in respect of a specified instrument where, at the time the instrument was issued, the qualifying company was in possession, or aware, of information, including information about any arrangement or understanding in relation to ownership of the instrument after that time, which could reasonably be taken to indicate that interest or other distributions which would be payable in respect of that instrument would not be subject, without any reduction computed by reference to the amount of such interest or other distribution, to a tax in a relevant territory which generally applies to profits, income or gains received in that territory, by persons, from sources outside that territory.

(4B) Where any amount, paid out of the assets of a qualifying company under a return agreement, that is dependent on the results of that company’s business or any part of that business, would not be deducted in computing profits or gains of that company if that amount were to be treated, for all the purposes of the Tax Acts, other than subsection (2) of section 246, as a payment of interest, in respect of securities of the company other than specified instruments, that was dependent on the results of the company’s business, then that amount shall not be so deducted.”.

(4) Section 110 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (5):

“(5) Subsection (4) shall not apply in respect of any interest or other distribution as is paid by a qualifying company where the qualifying company concerned is, at the time of the payment, in possession, or aware, of information that can reasonably be taken to indicate that the payment is part of a scheme or arrangement the main benefit or one of the main benefits of which is the obtaining of a tax relief or the reduction of a tax liability the benefit of which would be expected to accrue to a person who, in relation to the qualifying company, is a specified person.”.

(5) (a) This section shall be construed together with section 110 of the Principal Act.

(b) Subsection (1) applies as respects qualifying assets—

(i) acquired or, as a result of an arrangement with another person, held or managed, by a qualifying company, or

(ii) in relation to which a qualifying company has entered into a legally enforceable arrangement referred to in subparagraphs (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (b) of the definition of qualifying company with another person,

on or after 21 January 2011.

(c) Subsections (2) to (4)apply—

(i) as respects any interest or other distribution paid on or after 21 January 2011 out of assets of a qualifying company in respect of securities of the company other than securities—

(I) which were issued, or were deemed to have been issued, by the qualifying company, or

(II) which the qualifying company issued under a binding written agreement made,

before 21 January 2011,

and

(ii) as respects an amount paid on or after 21 January 2011 out of the assets of a qualifying company under a return agreement other than such an amount paid under a binding written return agreement made before 21 January 2011.

(d) For the purposes of paragraph (c) securities shall be deemed to have been issued by the qualifying company on or before 21 January 2011 where—

(i) as a result of any change in the terms and conditions under which the securities were issued, those securities would represent a new holding within the meaning of section 584 if references in that section to “shares” and “original shares” were deemed to be references to “securities” and “original securities” respectively, and

(ii) as a result of the change in the terms and conditions referred to in subparagraph (i)—

(I) the beneficial ownership of the securities does not change, and

(II) no new consideration is received by the qualifying company or a specified person in respect of those securities.

41. Amendment of section 766 (tax credit for research and development expenditure) of Principal Act.

41.— Section 766 of the Principal Act is amended in paragraph (ii) of the definition of “expenditure on research and development” in subsection (1)(a) by inserting “(other than a specified intangible asset within the meaning of section 291A treated as machinery or plant by virtue of subsection (2) of that section)” after “plant”.

PART 2 Customs and Excise

42. Rates of mineral oil tax.

42.— The Finance Act 1999 is amended with effect as on and from 8 December 2010 by substituting the following for Schedule 2 to that Act (as amended by section 64(1)(d) of the Finance Act 2010):

“SCHEDULE 2

(With effect as on and from 8 December 2010)

Description of Mineral Oil	Rate of Tax
Light Oil: Petrol Aviation gasoline	€576.22 per 1,000 litres €576.22 per 1,000 litres
Heavy Oil: Used as a propellant Used for air navigation Used for private pleasure navigation Kerosene used other than as a propellant Fuel oil Other heavy oil	€465.70 per 1,000 litres €465.70 per 1,000 litres €465.70 per 1,000 litres €38.02 per 1,000 litres €60.73 per 1,000 litres €88.66 per 1,000 litres
Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Used as a propellant Other liquefied petroleum gas	€88.23 per 1,000 litres €24.64 per 1,000 litres
Coal: For business use For other use	€4.18 per tonne €8.36 per tonne

”.

43. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 (mineral oil tax) of Finance Act 1999.

43.— Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 1999 is amended—

(a) in section 97 by substituting the following for subsection (3)—

“(3) The application of a rate lower than the standard rate concerned may be subject to the satisfaction of the Commissioners as to the use or intended use of the mineral oil concerned, and they may, accordingly, prescribe or otherwise impose conditions for—

(a) the keeping for sale or selling, or

(b) the delivery or keeping for delivery,

of such mineral oil.”,

(b) in section 102 by inserting the following after subsection (1A):

“(1B) It shall be an offence under this subsection for a person—

(a) to sell or to keep for sale, or

(b) to deliver or to keep for delivery,

any mineral oil to which a rate lower than the appropriate standard rate has been applied, and to which markers have, accordingly, been added as prescribed, where such person has failed to comply with a condition prescribed or otherwise imposed under section 97(3), for the sale, keeping for sale, delivery or keeping for delivery (as the case may be) of such mineral oil.”,

(c) in section 102(3) by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) to keep or have prohibited goods on any premises or other land or on any vehicle.”,

(d) in section 102(4) by substituting “subsection (1A), (1B) or (3)” for “subsection (1A) or (3)”,

(e) in section 102(5) by substituting “subsection (1), (1A), (1B) or (3)” for “subsection (1), (1A) or (3)”, and

(f) in section 102A(1) by substituting “subsection (1A), (1B) or (3)(b)” for “subsection (1A) or (3)(b)”.

44. Amendment of Chapter 3 (solid fuel carbon tax) of Part 3 of Finance Act 2010.

44.— Chapter 3 of Part 3 of the Finance Act 2010 is amended by substituting the following for section 79—

“Liability to pay solid fuel carbon tax.

79.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), tax shall be charged at the time when the solid fuel is first supplied in the State by a supplier, and that supplier shall be accountable for and liable to pay the tax charged.

(2) (a) In this subsection ‘manufacture’, in relation to a solid fuel product, means the reconstituting or processing of a solid fuel to produce a solid fuel that has characteristics that are distinct from the solid fuel from which it is produced, and includes the production of compressed nuggets and briquettes, and similar products of a regular shape and size, but does not include extraction, washing, drying, breaking or grinding.

(b) Subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may prescribe, or otherwise require in any particular case, tax shall not be charged on solid fuel supplied by a supplier to a manufacturer of a solid fuel product, where such solid fuel is used as a raw material in the manufacture of such product.

(c) Where paragraph (b) applies, tax shall be charged at the time when the manufactured solid fuel product is first supplied in the State by a supplier, and that supplier shall be accountable for and liable to pay the tax charged.”.

45. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 (consolidation and modernisation of general excise law) of Finance Act 2001.

45.— Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2001 is amended by inserting the following after section 99A:

“Penalty for deliberately or carelessly making incorrect returns, etc.

99B.— (1) In this section—

‘carelessly’ means failure to take reasonable care;

‘liability to tax’ means a liability to the amount of the difference specified in subsection (11) or (12) arising from any matter referred to in subsection (2), (3), (5) or (6);

‘period’ means taxable period, accounting period or other period, as the context requires;

‘prompted qualifying disclosure’, in relation to a person, means a qualifying disclosure that has been made to the Commissioners or to an officer in the period between—

(a) the date on which a person is notified by an officer of the date on which an investigation or inquiry into any matter occasioning a liability to tax of that person will start, and

(b) the date that the investigation or inquiry starts;

‘qualifying disclosure’, in relation to a person, means—

(a) in relation to a penalty referred to in subsection (4), a disclosure that the Commissioners are satisfied is a disclosure of—

(i) complete information in relation to, and full particulars of, all matters occasioning a liability to tax that gives rise to a penalty referred to in subsection (4), and

(ii) full particulars of all matters occasioning any liability to tax or duty that gives rise to—

(I) a penalty referred to in section 1077E(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997,

(II) a penalty referred to in section 134A(2) of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999,

(III) a penalty referred to in section 116(4) of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, and

(IV) the application of section 1077E(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 to the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003,

and

(b) in relation to a penalty referred to in subsection (7), a disclosure that the Commissioners are satisfied is a disclosure of complete information in relation to, and full particulars of, all matters occasioning a liability to tax that gives rise to a penalty referred to in subsection (7) for the relevant period,

and which is made in writing to the Commissioners or to an officer and signed by or on behalf of that person and is accompanied by—

(A) a declaration, to the best of that person’s knowledge, information and belief, made in writing that all matters contained in the disclosure are correct and complete, and

(B) a payment of the tax and duty payable in respect of any matter contained in the disclosure and the interest on late payment of that tax and duty;

‘tax’ means any duty of excise;

‘transaction’ means any action giving rise to a liability to, or relief from, tax;

‘unprompted qualifying disclosure’, in relation to a person, means a qualifying disclosure that the Commissioners are satisfied has been voluntarily furnished to them—

(a) before an investigation or inquiry had been started by them or by an officer into any matter occasioning a liability to tax of that person, or

(b) where the person is notified by an officer of the date on which an investigation or inquiry into any matter occasioning a liability to tax of that person will start, before that notification.

(2) Where a person furnishes a return or makes a claim or declaration for the purposes of any requirement of excise law and, in so doing, the person deliberately—

(a) furnishes an incorrect return, or

(b) makes an incorrect claim or declaration,

then that person shall be liable to a penalty.

(3) Where a person deliberately fails to comply with a requirement in accordance with any provision of excise law to furnish a return, then the person shall be liable to a penalty.

(4) The penalty referred to—

(a) in subsection (2), shall be the amount specified in subsection (11), and

(b) in subsection (3), shall be the amount specified in subsection (12),

reduced, where the person liable to the penalty cooperated fully with any investigation or inquiry started by the Commissioners or by an officer into any matter occasioning a liability to tax of that person, to—

(i) 75 per cent of that amount where paragraph (ii) or (iii) does not apply,

(ii) 50 per cent of that amount where a prompted qualifying disclosure is made by that person,

(iii) 10 per cent of that amount where an unprompted qualifying disclosure has been made by that person.

(5) Where a person furnishes a return or makes a claim or declaration for the purposes of any provision of excise law, and in so doing, the person carelessly but not deliberately—

(a) furnishes an incorrect return, or

(b) makes an incorrect claim or declaration,

then that person shall be liable to a penalty.

(6) Where a person carelessly but not deliberately fails to comply with a requirement in accordance with any provision of excise law to furnish a return, then the person shall be liable to a penalty.

(7) (a) The penalty referred to—

(i) in subsection (5), shall be the amount specified in subsection (11), and

(ii) in subsection (6), shall be the amount specified in subsection (12),

reduced to 40 per cent in a case where the excess referred to in subparagraph (I) of paragraph (b) applies and to 20 per cent in any other case.

(b) Where the person liable to the penalty cooperated fully with any investigation or inquiry started by the Commissioners or by an officer into any matter occasioning a liability to tax of that person, the penalty referred to—

(i) in subsection (5), shall be the amount specified in subsection (11), and

(ii) in subsection (6), shall be the amount specified in subsection (12),

reduced—

(I) where the difference referred to in subsection (11) or (12), as the case may be, exceeds 15 per cent of the amount referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (11) or paragraph (b) of subsection (12), to—

(A) 30 per cent of that difference where clause (B) or (C) does not apply,

(B) 20 per cent of that difference where a prompted qualifying disclosure is made by that person,

(C) 5 per cent of that difference where an unprompted qualifying disclosure is made by that person,

or

(II) where the difference referred to in subsection (11) or (12), as the case may be, does not exceed 15 per cent of the amount referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (11) or paragraph (b) of subsection (12) to—

(A) 15 per cent of that difference where clause (B) or (C) does not apply,

(B) 10 per cent of that difference where a prompted qualifying disclosure is made by that person,

(C) 3 per cent of that difference where an unprompted qualifying disclosure is made by that person.

(8) Where, for the purposes of any requirement under excise law, a person deliberately or carelessly produces, furnishes, gives, sends or otherwise makes use of, any incorrect invoice, registration number, credit note, debit note, receipt, account, voucher, bank statement, estimate, statement, information, book, document or record, then the person shall be liable to—

(a) a penalty of €3,000 where that person has acted carelessly, or

(b) a penalty of €5,000 where that person has acted deliberately.

(9) Where any return, claim or declaration as is referred to in subsection (2) or (5) was furnished or made by a person, neither deliberately nor carelessly, and it comes to the person’s notice that it was incorrect, then, unless the error is remedied without unreasonable delay, the return, claim or declaration shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been deliberately made or submitted by that person.

(10) Subject to section 1077D(2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, proceedings or applications for the recovery of any penalty under this section shall not be out of time by reason that they are commenced after the time allowed by section 105A.

(11) The amount referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (4) and in paragraph (a)(i) of subsection (7) shall be the difference between—

(a) the amount of tax (if any) paid or claimed by the person concerned for the relevant period or transaction on the basis of the incorrect return, claim or declaration as furnished or otherwise made, and

(b) the amount properly payable by, or refundable to, that person for that period or transaction.

(12) The amount referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (4) and in paragraph (b)(ii) of subsection (7) shall be the difference between—

(a) the amount of tax (if any) paid by that person for the relevant period or transaction before the start, by the Commissioners or by an officer, of any inquiry or investigation where the Commissioners had announced publicly that they had started an inquiry or investigation or where the Commissioners or an officer have carried out an inquiry or investigation in respect of any matter that would have been included in the return if the return had been furnished by that person and the return had been correct, and

(b) the amount of tax properly payable by that person for that period or transaction.

(13) Where a second qualifying disclosure is made by a person within 5 years of that person’s first qualifying disclosure, then, as regards matters pertaining to that second disclosure—

(a) in relation to subsection (4)—

(i) paragraph (ii) shall apply as if ‘75 per cent’ were substituted for ‘50 per cent’, and

(ii) paragraph (iii) shall apply as if ‘55 per cent’ were substituted for ‘10 per cent’,

and

(b) in relation to subparagraph (I) of subsection (7)(b)—

(i) clause (B) shall apply as if ‘30 per cent’ were substituted for ‘20 per cent’, and

(ii) clause (C) shall apply as if ‘20 per cent’ were substituted for ‘5 per cent’.

(14) Where a third or subsequent qualifying disclosure is made by a person within 5 years of that person’s second qualifying disclosure, then, as regards matters pertaining to that third or subsequent disclosure, as the case may be—

(a) the penalty referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4) shall not be reduced, and

(b) the reduction referred to in subparagraph (I) of subsection (7)(b) shall not apply.

(15) A disclosure in relation to a person shall not be a qualifying disclosure where—

(a) before the disclosure is made, an officer had started an inquiry or investigation into any matter contained in that disclosure and had contacted or notified that person, or a person representing that person, in this regard, or

(b) matters contained in the disclosure are matters—

(i) that have become known, or are about to become known, to the Commissioners through their own investigations or through an investigation conducted by a statutory body or agency,

(ii) that are within the scope of an inquiry being carried out wholly or partly in public, or

(iii) to which the person who made the disclosure is linked, or about to be linked, publicly.

(16) For the purposes of this section, any return, claim or declaration submitted on behalf of a person shall be deemed to have been submitted by that person unless that person proves that it was submitted without that person’s consent or knowledge.

(17) Where a person referred to in subsection (2), (3), (5) or (6) is a body of persons, then the person acting in the capacity of secretary to such body is liable to a separate penalty of €1,500 or, in the case of deliberate behaviour, €3,000.”.

46. Amendment of Chapter 3 (offences, penalties and proceedings) of Part 2 of Finance Act 2001.

46.— (1) Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2001 is amended—

(a) by deleting section 118,

(b) by substituting the following for section 127:

“Notice of claim.

127.— (1) Where anything has, under any provision of excise law, been seized as liable to forfeiture, a person (referred to in this section as ‘the claimant’) may—

(a) within one month of the date of the notice of seizure under section 142(1), or

(b) where no such notice has been given, within one month of the date of the seizure,

give notice in writing to the Commissioners of a claim (referred to in this section as a ‘notice of claim’) that the thing seized is not so liable.

(2) A notice of claim shall specify the full name and address of the claimant and the basis on which the claim is grounded and, where that address is outside the State, any documents relating to condemnation proceedings under section 128(1) may be served at that address by post.

(3) If, on the expiration of a period referred to in subsection (1), no notice of claim has been given, the thing seized shall be deemed to have been duly condemned as forfeited, and the forfeiture shall apply from the date when the liability to forfeiture arose.

(4) Where a notice of claim has been given, the Commissioners shall, subject to subsections (2) and (3) of section 144, take court proceedings under section 128 for the condemnation of the thing concerned.”,

(c) by substituting the following for section 128:

“Proceedings for condemnation by court.

128.— (1) Proceedings for condemnation by the court in accordance with section 127(4) (in this section referred to as ‘condemnation proceedings’) are civil proceedings, and such proceedings shall be commenced in the name of the Commissioners.

(2) Where in any condemnation proceedings the court finds that the thing seized was, at the time of seizure, liable to forfeiture, the court shall condemn it as forfeited, and in any other case the court shall order its release.

(3) Condemnation proceedings may be instituted in the High Court or, if in the opinion of the Commissioners the value of the thing seized (that is to be the subject of such proceedings) does not exceed—

(a) €38,092, the Circuit Court, or

(b) €6,350, the District Court.

(4) In any condemnation proceedings, the claimant or any solicitor acting on behalf of such claimant, shall state on oath that the thing seized was, or was to the best of their knowledge and belief, the property of the claimant at the time of the seizure.

(5) The Commissioners may in their discretion stay or compound any condemnation proceedings, and may restore anything seized which is the subject of such proceedings, and the Minister for Finance may order any such restoration.

(6) Where in any condemnation proceedings judgment is given for the claimant, no officer or other person who made or assisted in making the seizure is liable to any civil or criminal proceedings on account of the seizure or detention of the thing seized, where the court or judge certifies that there was probable cause for making such seizure or detention.

(7) Where, in any condemnation proceedings, anything is condemned as forfeited, the forfeiture shall apply from the date when the liability to forfeiture arose.”,

and

(d) in section 132 by substituting “section 126 or 128” for “section 126 or 127”.

(2) Section 21 of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act 1890 (as amended by section 53 of the Finance Act 1987) is amended in subsection (1) by deleting “or for the condemnation of any goods seized as forfeited under any such Act,”.

47. Amendment of Chapter 4 (powers of officers) of Part 2 of Finance Act 2001.

47.— Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2001 is amended—

(a) in section 142(3) by substituting “section 127” for “section 143”,

(b) by deleting section 143,

(c) in section 144—

(i) in subsection (1) by substituting “section 127” for “section 143”,

(ii) by substituting the following for subsections (3) and (4):

“(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2), the Commissioners may as they think fit, and notwithstanding that the thing seized has not yet been condemned, or deemed to have been condemned, as forfeited—

(a) if a notice of claim in relation to such thing has been duly given under section 127, deliver it up to the claimant on payment to them of such sum as they deem proper, being a sum not exceeding that which represents the value of the thing, including any tax or duty on it that has not been paid, or

(b) if the thing seized is, in the opinion of the Commissioners, of a perishable or hazardous nature, or is tobacco products, sell or destroy it.

(4) If, where anything is delivered up, sold or destroyed under subsection (3), it is held by the court in condemnation proceedings under section 128 that such thing was not liable to forfeiture at the time of its seizure, the Commissioners shall, subject to any deduction allowed under subsection (5), on demand tender to such claimant—

(a) where a sum has been paid by such claimant under subsection (3)(a), an amount equal to that sum,

(b) if the thing has been sold under subsection (3)(b), an amount equal to the proceeds of sale,

(c) if the thing has been destroyed under subsection (3)(b), an amount equal to the market value of the thing at the time of its seizure.”.

48. Amendment of section 55 (air travel tax) of Finance (No. 2) Act 2008.

48.— (1) Section 55(2) of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) Air travel tax shall be charged, levied and paid at the rate of €3 per departure of a passenger on an aircraft from an airport.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 March 2011.

49. Amendment of Chapter 1 (betting duty) of Part 2 of Finance Act 2002, etc.

49.— (1) Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2002 is amended—

(a) in section 64 by deleting the definition of “duty” and inserting the following:

“ ‘bookmaker’ has the same meaning as it has in the Betting Act 1931;”,

(b) in section 64, in the definition of “registered premises”, by substituting “1931;” for “1931, and”,

(c) in section 64 by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “registered premises”:

“ ‘remote betting intermediary’ means a person who, in the course of business provides facilities, in accordance with a licence for such activity duly granted under any Act, which allow persons to make bets with other persons by remote means;

‘remote bookmaker’ means a person who engages in bookmaking by remote means in accordance with a licence for such bookmaking duly granted under any Act but does not include a bookmaker licensed under section 7 of the Betting Act 1931 who accepts bets by remote means as an ancillary part of his or her bookmaking business;

‘remote means’ means by way of—

(a) the internet or telephone, or

(b) any other electronic or other technology for facilitating communication by telegraphy or wireless telegraphy;”,

(d) by inserting the following after section 66:

“Remote bookmaker’s licence duty.

66A.— (1) There shall be charged, levied and paid—

(a) for and upon every licence to act and carry on business as a remote bookmaker, an excise duty of €5,000, and

(b) on the renewal of every such licence, the appropriate rate of excise duty mentioned in column (2)of the Table to this section in respect of the level of the annual turnover of the remote bookmaker which is mentioned opposite that rate in column (1) of that Table.

(2) Where it is established that—

(a) the amount of excise duty paid on the renewal of a remote bookmaker’s licence is in excess of the amount properly payable, that excess amount shall be refunded by the Revenue Commissioners;

(b) the amount of the excise duty paid on the renewal of such a licence is less than the amount properly payable, the amount of the shortfall shall be paid before the licence is renewable and the licence shall not be renewable unless so paid.

(3) Every person who fails or neglects to pay the proper sum payable in respect of the duty imposed by this section shall be liable to a penalty of €5,000.

(4) In this section ‘annual turnover’ means—

(a) where the period between the date of the granting of the licence and the date on which it falls due for renewal is less than a year, an amount determined by the formula—

T 365

—

P

where—

T is the amount in money of the bets entered into by the remote bookmaker with persons in the State in the period between the date of the granting of the licence and 31 October preceding the date on which it falls due for renewal, and

P is the number of days in the period between the date of the granting of the licence and 31 October preceding the date on which it falls due for renewal,

(b) in any other case, the amount in money of the bets entered into by the remote bookmaker with persons in the State in the period of one year ending on 30 September preceding the date on which the licence falls due for renewal.

TABLE

Level of annual turnover (1)	Rates of duty (2)
Under €50 million €50 million but less than €75 million €75 million but less than €100 million €100 million but less than €150 million €150 million but less than €200 million €200 million but less than €300 million €300 million but less than €400 million €400 million but less than €500 million €500 million or more	€5,000 €10,000 €15,000 €20,000 €30,000 €40,000 €60,000 €80,000 €100,000

Remote betting intermediary’s licence duty.

66B.— (1) There shall be charged, levied and paid—

(a) for and upon every licence to act and carry on business as a remote betting intermediary, an excise duty of €5,000, and

(b) on the renewal of every such licence, the appropriate rate of excise duty mentioned in column (2)of the Table to this section in respect of the level of the annual commission earnings of the remote betting intermediary which is mentioned opposite that rate in column (1) of that Table.

(2) Where it is established that—

(a) the amount of excise duty paid on the renewal of a remote betting intermediary’s licence is in excess of the amount properly payable, that excess amount shall be refunded by the Revenue Commissioners;

(b) the amount of the excise duty paid on the renewal of such a licence is less than the amount properly payable, the amount of the shortfall shall be paid before the licence is renewable and the licence shall not be renewable unless so paid.

(3) Every person who fails or neglects to pay the proper sum payable in respect of the duty imposed by this section shall be liable to a penalty of €5,000.

(4) In this section ‘annual commission earnings’ means—

(a) where the period between the date of the granting of the licence and the date on which it falls due for renewal is less than a year, an amount determined by the formula—

T 365

—

P

where—

T is the earnings by way of commission charges (within the meaning of section 67B) of the remote betting intermediary in the period between the date of the granting of the licence and 31 October preceding the date on which it falls due for renewal, and

P is the number of days in the period between the date of the granting of the licence and 31 October preceding the date on which it falls due for renewal,

(b) in any other case, the amount of earnings by way of commission charges of the remote betting intermediary in the period of one year ending on 30 September preceding the date on which the licence falls due for renewal.

TABLE

Level of annual commission earnings (1)	Rates of duty (2)
Under €3 million €3 million but less than €4,500,000 €4,500,000 but less than €6 million €6 million but less than €9 million €9 million but less than €12 million €12 million but less than €18 million €18 million but less than €24 million €24 million but less than €30 million €30 million or more	€5,000 €10,000 €15,000 €20,000 €30,000 €40,000 €60,000 €80,000 €100,000

”,

(e) by inserting the following after section 67:

“Application of betting duty to remote bookmakers.

67A.— Betting duty under section 67 shall be charged, levied and paid on and by every remote bookmaker in respect of bets made, laid or otherwise entered into with persons in the State and the provisions of section 67 shall apply in relation to bets made, laid or otherwise entered into by remote bookmakers with such persons.

Betting intermediary duty.

67B.— (1) There shall be charged, levied and paid on and by every remote betting intermediary an excise duty, to be known as betting intermediary duty, at the rate of 15 per cent of commission charges.

(2) For the purposes of this section, ‘commission charges’ means the amounts that parties in the State to bets made using the facilities of a remote betting intermediary are charged, whether by deduction from winnings or otherwise, for using those facilities.

(3) Every person who fails or neglects to pay any sum payable by him or her in respect of betting intermediary duty imposed by this section within the prescribed period shall be liable to a penalty of €5,000.”,

(f) in section 69 by inserting “or the remote bookmaker” after “bookmaker”,

(g) by inserting the following after section 69:

“Time when betting intermediary duty becomes payable.

69A.— Betting intermediary duty shall become due when commission is charged by a remote betting intermediary in respect of a bet made using the facilities of the intermediary.”,

(h) in section 70 by inserting “or betting intermediary duty” after “betting duty” in both places where those words occur,

(i) in section 71(1) by inserting “or section 67A” after “section 67”,

(j) in section 71 by deleting subsection (2),

(k) in section 72(2)(d) by substituting “section 960L” for “section 962”,

(l) in section 75 by deleting subsection (1),

(m) by inserting the following after section 75:

“Application of sections 72 to 75.

75A.— Sections 72 to 75 shall apply in relation to betting intermediary duty under section 67B.”,

(n) in section 76 by substituting “any duty imposed by this Chapter,” for “the duty on bets imposed by section 67 of this Chapter,”,

(o) in section 77(1) by substituting “any duty imposed by this Chapter” for “betting duty”,

(p) in section 77(1)(a) by inserting “, remote bookmakers and remote betting intermediaries” after “bookmakers”,

(q) in section 77(1)(b) by substituting “duty” for “betting duty”, and

(r) by substituting the following for section 77(1)(c):

“(c) requiring the maintenance and production by bookmakers, remote bookmakers and remote betting intermediaries of their books, accounts, vouchers, and other records relating to the business carried on by them, and”.

(2) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 17 of the Finance Act 2009 are repealed.

(3) Subsection (1) comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order, and different days may be so appointed for different provisions or for different purposes.

50. Amendment of section 130 (interpretation) of Finance Act 1992.

50.— Section 130 of the Finance Act 1992 is amended—

(a) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “Directive 2003/37/EC”:

“ ‘Directive 97/27/EC’ means Directive 97/27/EC [^1] of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 1997 (as amended) relating to the masses and dimensions of certain categories of motor vehicles and their trailers and amending Directive 70/156/EEC;

‘electric vehicle’ means a vehicle that derives its motive power exclusively from an electric motor;

‘electric motorcycle’ means a motorcycle that derives its motive power exclusively from an electric motor;

‘flexible fuel vehicle’ means a vehicle that derives its motive power from an internal combustion engine that is capable of using a blend of ethanol and petrol, where such blend contains a minimum of 85 per cent ethanol;

‘hybrid electric vehicle’ means a vehicle that derives its motive power from a combination of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine and is capable of being driven on electric propulsion alone for a material part of its normal driving cycle;”,

(b) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “manufacture”:

“ ‘mass of the vehicle with bodywork in running order’ has the same meaning as in paragraph 2.5 of Annex I to Directive 97/27/EC;”,

(c) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “pick-up”:

“ ‘plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’ means a series production vehicle that derives its motive power from a combination of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, where the electric motor derives its power from a battery that may be charged from the internal combustion engine and an alternating current (AC) electric mains supply and is capable of being driven on electric propulsion alone for a material part of its normal driving cycle;”,

and

(d) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “special purpose vehicle”:

“ ‘technically permissible maximum laden mass’ has the same meaning as in paragraph 2.6 of Annex I to Directive 97/27/EC (as amended);”.

51. Amendment of section 132 (charge of excise duty) of Finance Act 1992.

51.— Section 132 of the Finance Act 1992 is amended in subsection (3) by substituting the following for paragraph (d):

“(d) in case it is—

(i) a category C vehicle, or

(ii) a category N1 vehicle that, at the time of manufacture, has less than 4 seats and has a technically permissible maximum laden mass that is greater than 130 per cent of the mass of the vehicle with bodywork in running order,

at the rate of €50, or in case such vehicle is registered on or after 1 May 2011, at the rate of €200,”.

52. Repayment of amounts of vehicle registration tax in respect of the registration of certain new vehicles.

52.— Section 135BA (inserted by section 107 of the Finance Act 2010) of the Finance Act 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2) by substituting “€1,250” for “€1,500”,

(b) in subsection (2)(b) by substituting “1 January 2011 to 30 June 2011” for “1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010”, and

(c) in subsection (2)(e) by substituting “30 June 2011” for “31 December 2010”.

53. Remission or repayment in respect of vehicle registration tax on certain hybrid electric vehicles, certain flexible fuel vehicles, certain plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, certain electric vehicles and certain electric motorcycles.

53.— Chapter IV of Part II of the Finance Act 1992 is amended by substituting the following for section 135C:

“(1) (a) Where a person first registers a category A vehicle or a category B vehicle during the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012 and the Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is—

(i) a series production hybrid electric vehicle, or

(ii) a series production flexible fuel vehicle,

then the Commissioners shall remit or repay to that person an amount equal to the lesser of—

(I) the vehicle registration tax which, apart from this subsection, would be payable in respect of the vehicle in accordance with paragraph (a) or (c) of section 132(3), or

(II) the amount specified in the Table to this subsection which is referable to the vehicle having regard to its age.

(b) In this subsection ‘age’, in relation to a vehicle, means the time that has elapsed since the date on which the vehicle first entered into service.

TABLE 1

Age of vehicle	Maximum amount which may be remitted or repaid
New vehicle, first registration	€1,500
Not a new vehicle but less than 2 years	€1,350
2 years or over but less than 3 years	€1,200
3 years or over but less than 4 years	€1,050
4 years or over but less than 5 years	€900
5 years or over but less than 6 years	€750
6 years or over but less than 7 years	€600
7 years or over but less than 8 years	€450
8 years or over but less than 9 years	€300
9 years or over but less than 10 years	€150
10 years or over	Nil

(2) (a) Where a person first registers a category A vehicle or a category B vehicle during the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012 and the Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, then the Commissioners shall remit or repay to that person an amount equal to the lesser of—

(i) the vehicle registration tax which, apart from this subsection, would be payable in respect of the vehicle in accordance with paragraph (a) or (c) of section 132(3), or

(ii) the amount specified in the Table to this subsection which is referable to the vehicle having regard to its age.

(b) In this subsection ‘age’, in relation to a vehicle, means the time that has elapsed since the date on which the vehicle first entered into service.

TABLE 2

Age of vehicle	Maximum amount which may be remitted or repaid
New vehicle, first registration	€2,500
Not a new vehicle but less than 2 years	€2,250
2 years or over but less than 3 years	€2,000
3 years or over but less than 4 years	€1,750
4 years or over but less than 5 years	€1,500
5 years or over but less than 6 years	€1,250
6 years or over but less than 7 years	€1,000
7 years or over but less than 8 years	€750
8 years or over but less than 9 years	€500
9 years or over but less than 10 years	€250
10 years or over	Nil

(3) (a) A category A electric vehicle or a category B electric vehicle first registered during the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 April 2011 is exempt from vehicle registration tax where the Commissioners are satisfied that such vehicle is a series production electric vehicle.

(b) Where a person first registers a category A electric vehicle or a category B electric vehicle during the period from 1 May 2011 to 31 December 2012 and the Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is a series production electric vehicle, then the Commissioners shall remit or repay to that person an amount equal to the lesser of—

(i) the vehicle registration tax which, apart from this subsection, would be payable in respect of the vehicle in accordance with paragraph (a) or (c) of section 132(3), or

(ii) €5,000.

(4) An electric motorcycle first registered during the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012 is exempt from vehicle registration tax where the Commissioners are satisfied that such vehicle is a series production electric motorcycle.”.

54. Administrative penalties for contravention of Community Customs Code.

54.— (1) In this section—

“declaration” means any declaration, return or statement required to be made by a person in accordance with the Community Customs Code and includes a declaration made by an electronic data-processing technique;

“duties of Customs” means import duties and export duties as defined in the Community Customs Code;

“supporting documents” means the documents—

(a) required under the Community Customs Code to support a declaration, and

(b) where the declaration is made by an electronic data-processing technique, which are required to be in the possession of the person making the declaration;

“Community Customs Code” means the Community Customs Code established by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 [^1] together with the Regulations amending or implementing that Council Regulation.

(1) (a) A person who fails to comply with a duty, obligation, requirement or condition imposed under the Community Customs Code which relates to Article 38 or 101 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 is liable to a penalty of €500 in respect of each such failure.

(b) A person who fails to comply with a duty, obligation, requirement or condition imposed under the Community Customs Code which relates to a declaration, then where the person, in respect of each such failure—

(i) does not make the declaration, he or she is liable to a penalty of €2,000,

(ii) does not make the declaration within the time limit specified under the Community Customs Code, he or she is liable to a penalty of €250 for each month or part of a month during which the return remains outstanding, subject to a maximum penalty of €2,000,

(iii) makes an incorrect or incomplete declaration, he or she is liable to a penalty of €100,

(iv) makes a declaration using an electronic data-processing technique while not in possession of the required supporting documents, he or she is liable to a penalty of €100.

(c) Except where paragraph (a) or (b) applies, a person who fails to comply with a duty, obligation, requirement or condition imposed under the Community Customs Code is liable to a penalty of €250 in respect of each such failure.

(2) Where the person referred to in subsection (2) is a body of persons and they fail to comply with a duty, obligation, requirement or condition imposed under the Community Customs Code, then the person acting in the capacity of secretary to such body is liable to a separate penalty of an equivalent amount to that stated in the subsection in respect of each such failure.

(3) Any penalty payable under this section is deemed to be a debt due to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund and shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners.

(4) In relation to any penalty payable under this section, Chapter 3A of Part 47 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 shall apply and the European Communities (Customs Appeals) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 355 of 1995) shall not apply.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be read so as to prevent any action or proceedings being otherwise brought for the collection or recovery of duties of Customs.

(6) This section shall be construed as one with the Customs Acts.

PART 3 Value-Added Tax

55. Interpretation (Part 3).

55.— In this Part “Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010.

56. Amendment of section 17 (other provisions in relation to services) of Principal Act.

56.— Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(b) by substituting “28 consecutive days” for “7 consecutive days”.

57. Amendment of section 95 (transitional measures for supplies of immovable goods) of Principal Act.

57.— Section 95 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) by deleting “and” at the end of paragraph (a) and by substituting “after 1 July 2008, and” for “after 1 July 2008.” in paragraph (b),

(b) in subsection (1) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(c) immovable goods being residential property or burial grounds which are acquired or developed by a public body prior to 1 July 2010, being completed immovable goods before 1 July 2010, and have not been disposed of by that public body prior to that date, until such time as those goods have been disposed of by that public body on or after that date.”,

and

(c) by inserting the following after subsection (6):

“(6A) Where—

(a) a public body makes a supply of immovable goods referred to in subsection (1)(c),

(b) tax is chargeable on that supply, and

(c) that public body was not entitled to deduct all the tax charged to that public body on the acquisition or development of those immovable goods,

then that public body shall be entitled to make the appropriate adjustment that would apply under section 64(6)(a) as if the capital goods scheme applied to that transaction, but that adjustment shall not exceed the value-added tax chargeable on that supply of those goods.”.

58. Amendment of section 115 (penalties generally) of Principal Act.

58.— Section 115 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) by substituting “section 64(10)(c)(i), 64(12), 65(3), 86(1), 95(9)(a) or 124(7)(a) or Chapter 2, 3, 6 or 7 of Part 9” for “section 65(3), 82, 86(1) or 124(7)(a) or Chapter 2, 3 or 7 of Part 9”, and

(b) by inserting the following after subsection (7):

“(7A) A person who does not comply with section 56(3)(c) shall be liable to a penalty of €4,000 in respect of the taxable period during which he or she ceased to be a qualifying person (within the meaning of section 56) and to a further penalty of €4,000 for each subsequent taxable period during which he or she is not such a person and has failed to advise the Revenue Commissioners accordingly.”.

59. Supplies of scrap metal — reverse charge.

59.— (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 16 by inserting the following after subsection (3):

“(4) (a) In this subsection—

‘dealing in scrap metal’ means the purchase, sale, resale or recovery of scrap metal;

‘recovery’, in relation to scrap metal, means any activity carried on for the purposes of reclaiming, recycling or re-using, in whole or in part, scrap metal and any activities related to such reclamation, recycling or re-use;

‘scrap metal’ includes scrapped metal and metal waste originating from, or extracted from, the processing of metals, metal derived from vehicles, metal derived from construction and demolition waste, machine parts and metal items no longer useable in their original form due to their breaking, obsolescence, shearing, wearing or the like, and also includes goods listed in paragraphs (1) to (3) of Annex VI of the VAT Directive.

(b) Notwithstanding section 56, where a taxable person carries on a business in the State, which consists of or includes dealing in scrap metal (in this subsection referred to as a ‘recipient’) and he or she receives a supply of scrap metal from another taxable person who carries on a business in the State, then—

(i) the recipient shall, in relation to that supply, be an accountable person or be deemed to be an accountable person and shall be liable to pay the tax chargeable as if that recipient made that supply in the course or furtherance of business, and

(ii) the person who supplied the scrap metal shall not be accountable for or liable to pay such tax in respect of that supply.”,

(b) in section 59(2) by inserting the following after paragraph (i):

“(ia) the tax chargeable during the period, being tax for which the recipient (within the meaning of section 16(4)(b)) is liable by virtue of section 16(4)(b)in respect of scrap metal (within the meaning of section 16(4)(a)) received by that recipient, but only where the recipient would be entitled to a deduction of that tax elsewhere under this subsection if that tax had been charged to such recipient by an accountable person,”,

(c) in section 66 by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(4A) (a) Where a taxable person who carries on a business in the State supplies scrap metal (within the meaning of section 16(4)(a)) to a recipient (within the meaning of section 16(4)(b)), the person shall issue a document to the recipient indicating—

(i) that the recipient is liable to account for the tax chargeable on that supply, and

(ii) such other particulars as would be required to be included in that document if that document were an invoice required to be issued in accordance with subsection (1) but excluding the amount of tax payable.

(b) Where the recipient and the person who supplied the scrap metal so agree, section 71(1) may apply to this document as if it were an invoice.”,