LegalizeFinance Act 2014
This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.
2 amending acts · 2016-12-25, FINANCE ACT 2016
Act to provide for the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration and regulation of taxation, of stamp duties and of duties relating to excise and otherwise to make further provision in connection with finance including the regulation of customs.,
- “(4B) Where a donee, successor or lessee ceases to qualify as a farmer under subsection (1) within the period of 6 years commencing on the valuation date of the gift or inheritance, all or, as the case may be, part of the agricultural property shall for the purposes of subsection (2), otherwise than on the death of the donee, successor or lessee, be treated as property comprised in the gift or inheritance that is not agricultural property, and the taxable value of the gift or inheritance shall be determined accordingly and tax shall be payable accordingly.”.
- (2) This section shall have effect in relation to gifts or inheritances taken on or after 1 January 2015.
83. Amendment of section 93 of Principal Act (relevant business property)
83. (1) Section 93 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(e) by inserting “, or that person and his or her spouse or civil partner,” after “that person”.
- (2) This section applies on and from 23 October 2014.
PART 6 Miscellaneous
84. Interpretation (Part 6)
84. In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
85. Domicile levy: penalties for failure to make a return
85. The Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in section 531AF by inserting the following after subsection (1):
- “(1A) Where the Revenue Commissioners have reason to believe that an individual is chargeable to domicile levy for any year on the basis that he or she is a relevant individual for that year, the Revenue Commissioners may, by notice in writing, request the individual to deliver, within 30 days of the date of the notice, a full and true return, together with the payment of domicile levy, of all such matters and particulars in relation to the determination of liability to domicile levy as the Revenue Commissioners may require.”,
- (b) in section 1077E(1), in the definition of “tax”, by inserting “domicile levy,” before “income levy”, and
- (c) in Schedule 29, in column 1, by inserting “section 531AF” after “section 477”.
86. Amendment of section 959B of Principal Act (supplemental interpretation provisions)
86. Section 959B(1) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for “if the income from that other source or those other sources is taken into account in determining the amount of his or her tax credits and standard rate cut-off point for the tax year applicable to those emoluments, and, for the purposes of deciding whether such income should be so taken into account, the Revenue Commissioners may have regard to the amount for that, or any previous, tax year of the income of the person from that other source or those other sources before deductions, losses, allowances and other reliefs,”:
“if the income from that other source or those other sources, which does not exceed €3,174 in total—
(i) is taken into account in determining the amount of his or her tax credits and standard rate cut-off point for the tax year applicable to those emoluments, or
(ii) is fully taxed at source under section 261,
and, for the purposes of deciding whether such income should be taken into account in determining the amount of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point for the tax year, the Revenue Commissioners may have regard to the amount for that, or any previous, tax year of the income of the person from that other source or those other sources before deductions, losses, allowances and other reliefs,”.
87. Amendment of general anti-avoidance rule
87. (1) Chapter 2 of Part 33 of the Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in section 811 by inserting the following subsection after subsection (13) of section 811:
- “(14) This section shall only apply to a transaction which was commenced on or before 23 October 2014.”,
- (b) in section 811A by—
- (i) inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
“(2A)
(a) In this subsection ‘qualifying avoidance disclosure’ means a disclosure that the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied is a disclosure of complete information in relation to, and full particulars of, a transaction that is a tax avoidance transaction or that, had the Revenue Commissioners formed the opinion that the transaction was a tax avoidance transaction, would occasion a liability to tax pursuant to section 811, made in writing to the Revenue Commissioners and signed by or on behalf of that person and which is accompanied by—
(i) 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
(ii) a payment of any tax due and payable in respect of any matter contained in the disclosure and the interest payable on the late payment of that tax.
(b) Where on or before 30 June 2015 the Revenue Commissioners receive a qualifying avoidance disclosure in relation to a transaction then—
(i) the surcharge referred to in subsection (2) shall not apply, and
(ii) the amount of any interest payable under the Acts shall be the amount that, apart from this subparagraph, would be so payable reduced by 20 per cent of that amount.”,
- (ii) inserting the following after subsection (7):
- “(8) This section shall only apply to a transaction which was commenced on or before 23 October 2014.”,
- (c) by inserting the following sections after section 811B:
“Transactions to avoid liability to tax
811C. (1) (a) In this section and section 811D—
‘the Acts’ means—
(i) the Tax Acts,
(ii) the Capital Gains Tax Acts,
(iii) the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, and the enactments amending or extending that Act,
(iv) the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, and the enactments amending or extending that Act,
(v) the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, and the enactments amending or extending that Act, and
(vi) Part 18D,
and any instruments made thereunder;
‘assessment’ includes any assessment to tax made under any provision of the Acts including any amended assessment, correcting assessment and any estimate or estimation;
‘business’ means any trade, profession or vocation;
‘Revenue officer’ means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;
‘tax’ means any tax, duty, levy or charge which in accordance with the Acts is placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners and any interest or other amount payable pursuant to the Acts;
‘tax advantage’ means—
(i) a reduction, avoidance or deferral of any charge or assessment to tax, including any potential or prospective charge or assessment, or
(ii) a refund of or a payment of an amount of tax, or an increase in an amount of tax, refundable or otherwise payable to a person, including any potential or prospective amount so refundable or payable,
arising out of or by reason of a transaction, including a transaction where another transaction would not have been undertaken or arranged to achieve the results, or any part of the results, achieved or intended to be achieved by the transaction;
‘tax avoidance transaction’ has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2) ;
‘transaction’ means—
(i) any transaction, action, course of action, course of conduct, scheme, plan or proposal,
(ii) any agreement, arrangement, understanding, promise or undertaking, whether express or implied and whether or not enforceable or intended to be enforceable by legal proceedings, and
(iii) any series of or combination of the circumstances referred to in paragraphs (i) and (ii),
whether entered into or arranged by one person or by 2 or more persons—
- (I) whether acting in concert or not, - (II) whether or not entered into or arranged wholly or partly outside the State, or - (III) whether or not entered into or arranged as part of a larger transaction or in conjunction with any other transaction or transactions.
(b) This section and section 811D shall apply notwithstanding any other provision of the Acts.
(2)
(a) Subject to paragraph (b), for the purposes of this section a transaction shall be a ‘tax avoidance transaction’ if having regard to the following matters—
(i) the form of that transaction,
(ii) the substance of that transaction,
(iii) the substance of any other transaction or transactions which that transaction may reasonably be regarded as being directly or indirectly related to or connected with, and
(iv) the final outcome of that transaction and any combination of those other transactions which are so related or connected,
and having regard to any one or more of the following matters—
- (I) the results of the transaction, - (II) its use as a means of achieving those results, - (III) any other means by which the results or any part of the results could have been achieved, it would be reasonable to consider that— - (A) the transaction gives rise to, or but for this section would give rise to, a tax advantage, and - (B) the transaction was not undertaken or arranged primarily for purposes other than to give rise to a tax advantage.(b) For the purpose of this section, a transaction shall not be a tax avoidance transaction if, having regard to the matters set out in paragraph (a) —
(i) notwithstanding that the purpose or purposes of the transaction could have been achieved by some other transaction which would have given rise to a greater amount of tax being payable by the person, the transaction—
(I) was undertaken or arranged by a person with a view, directly or indirectly, to the realisation of profits in the course of the business activities of a business carried on by the person, and
(II) was not undertaken or arranged primarily to give rise to a tax advantage,
or
(ii) the transaction was undertaken or arranged for the purpose of obtaining the benefit of any relief, allowance or other abatement provided by any provision of the Acts and the transaction did not result directly or indirectly in a misuse of the provision or an abuse of the provision having regard to the purposes for which it was provided.
(3) A person shall not be entitled to any tax advantage arising out of or by reason of a tax avoidance transaction to which this section applies.
(4)
(a) Where a person submits any return, declaration, statement or account or makes any claim which purports to obtain the benefit of a tax advantage arising out of or by reason of a tax avoidance transaction, a Revenue officer may at any time deny or withdraw the tax advantage.
(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), it shall be a lawful exercise of the powers conferred by that paragraph to do one or more of the following acts, and accordingly that paragraph shall be read as permitting, for the purposes of that paragraph, a Revenue officer to do each of the following acts, namely to—
(i) make or amend an assessment,
(ii) allow or disallow in whole or in part any credit, deduction or other amount which is relevant in computing tax payable, or any part of such credit, deduction or other amount,
(iii) allocate or deny any credit, deduction, loss, abatement, relief, allowance, exemption, income or other amount, or any part thereof,
(iv) recharacterise, for tax purposes, the nature of any payment or other amount.
(c) In paragraph (b) a reference to the doing of an act includes a reference to the making of an adjustment.
(d) Where any adjustment is made or act is done to deny or withdraw a tax advantage, relief shall be afforded from any double taxation which would, or would but for this paragraph, arise by virtue of any such adjustment made or act done pursuant to this subsection.
(5)
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, ‘alternative assessment’ means an assessment—
(i) not being an assessment made pursuant to subsection (4), and
(ii) the effect of which is to withdraw or deny, in whole or in part, any tax advantage.
(b) Where a Revenue officer makes or amends an assessment to withdraw or deny a tax advantage pursuant to this section, it shall be lawful for a Revenue officer to make or have made or to amend or have amended an alternative assessment.
(c) No appeal shall lie against an assessment made pursuant to this section or an alternative assessment on the grounds that a Revenue officer has made or amended an assessment pursuant to this section, or an alternative assessment, as the case may be.
(d) Where an assessment is made pursuant to this section and an alternative assessment is made, then only one such assessment shall, by agreement with the person on whom the assessment and the alternative assessment were made or by way of determination on appeal, as the case may be, become final and conclusive.
(6) Except as provided for in section 811D(4)(a)(i), this section and section 811D shall be read as enabling the doing of, and nothing in the Acts, in particular a provision stipulating a time limit, shall be read as preventing a Revenue officer from doing, each of the following, namely:
(a) making any enquiry;
(b) taking any action;
(c) making or amending an assessment;
(d) collecting or recovering any amount of tax;
at any time in connection with this section or section 811D.
(7) Where a tax advantage is withdrawn from or denied to 2 or more persons pursuant to this section, any obligation on the Revenue Commissioners to maintain secrecy or any other restriction on the disclosure of information by the Revenue Commissioners shall not apply with respect to the making of any adjustment, the performance of any other acts or the discharge of any functions authorised by this section to be made, performed or discharged by a Revenue officer or to the making of any adjustment, the performance of any other acts or the discharge of any functions (including any act or function in relation to an appeal made under Part 40) which is directly or indirectly related to the adjustment, acts or functions so authorised.
(8) A transaction shall not be a tax avoidance transaction for the purposes of this section if it was commenced on or before 23 October 2014.
Transactions to avoid liability to tax: surcharge, interest and protective notifications
811D. (1) For the purposes of this section—
‘chargeable period’ has the meaning assigned to it in Part 41A;
‘disclosable transaction’ has the meaning assigned to it in Chapter 3 of this Part but for the purposes of this section, a transaction shall not be a disclosable transaction if—
- (a) the transaction was disclosable by a promoter, pursuant to Chapter 3 of this Part, and not by a person who enters into any transaction which is or forms part of a transaction which is disclosable under section 817F, 817G or 817H, - (b) by the specified return date, within the meaning of Part 41A, for a return referred to in section 817HA(3), the transaction was not assigned a transaction number, within the meaning of Chapter 3 of this Part, or the person, in whose name or on whose behalf a qualifying avoidance disclosure or a protective notification is made, was not provided with a transaction number by a promoter or marketer, within the meaning of Chapter 3 of this Part, - (c) the person in whose name or on whose behalf a qualifying avoidance disclosure or a protective notification is made provides a Revenue officer with the specified information, within the meaning of Chapter 3 of this Part, and - (d) the person in whose name or on whose behalf a qualifying avoidance disclosure or a protective notification is made, without unreasonable delay, provides a Revenue officer with any other information that the officer may reasonably require for the purposes of deciding if an application should be made to the relevant court under section 817O(3)(a); ‘protective notification’ means a notification— - (a) which is delivered in such form as may be prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners and to such office of the Revenue Commissioners as— - (i) is specified in the prescribed form, or - (ii) as may be identified, by reference to guidance in the prescribed form, as the office to which the notification concerned should be sent, - (b) which contains— - (i) full details of the transaction which is the subject of the protective notification, including any part of that transaction that has not been undertaken before the protective notification is delivered, - (ii) full reference to the provisions of the Acts that the person, by whom, or on whose behalf, the protective notification is delivered, considers to be relevant to the treatment of the transaction for tax purposes, - (iii) full details of how, in the opinion of the person, by whom, or on whose behalf, the protective notification is delivered, each provision referred to in the protective notification in accordance with subparagraph (ii), applies, or does not apply, to the transaction, and - (iv) full details of why, in the opinion of the person, by whom, or on whose behalf, the protective notification is delivered, section 811C does not apply, - (c) which includes copies of all documentation pertaining to the transaction which is the subject of the protective notification, - (d) which is received by the Revenue Commissioners on or before the relevant date, and - (e) which does not relate to a disclosable transaction, and subsection (2) supplements this definition; ‘qualifying avoidance disclosure’ means a disclosure that a Revenue officer is 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 surcharge referred to in subsection (3), made in writing to the Revenue officer and signed by or on behalf of that person and which 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 any tax due and payable in respect of any matter contained in the disclosure and the interest payable on the late payment of that tax; ‘relevant date’ in relation to a transaction means the date which is 90 days after the date on which that transaction was commenced; ‘specific anti-avoidance provision’ means a provision specified in Schedule 33.
(2)
(a) Where the condition set out in paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘protective notification’ in this section cannot be complied with by reason of the fact that part of the transaction is undertaken after the relevant date, the condition shall be deemed to have been complied with if copies of the documentation pertaining to that part of the transaction are delivered to the office referred to in paragraph (a) of that definition within 30 days from their execution.
(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘protective notification’, the specifying, under—
(i) section 81 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010,
(ii) section 46A of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003,
(iii) section 8C of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, or
(iv) section 959P of this Act,
of a doubt as to the application of law to, or the treatment for tax purposes of, any matter to be contained in a return shall not be regarded as being, or being equivalent to, the delivery of a protective notification in relation to a transaction for the purposes of this section.
(3)
(a) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), where—
(i) a transaction has been undertaken or arranged which would, but for section 811C or a specific anti-avoidance provision, as the case may be, give rise to a tax advantage, and
(ii) a person submits any return, declaration, statement or account or makes any claim which purports to obtain the benefit of that tax advantage,
then that person shall be liable to pay an amount (in this section referred to as the ‘surcharge’) equal to 30 per cent of the amount of the tax advantage and the provisions of Chapter 3A of Part 47, as they apply to penalties, shall apply with any necessary modifications to that surcharge.
(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply in relation to a transaction where a person has, in submitting any return, declaration, statement or account or making any claim which purports to obtain the benefit of that tax advantage, incurred a penalty under section 1077E(2) or 1077E(5), section 116(2) or 116(5) of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, section 134A of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 or section 58 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003.
(4)
(a) Where the Revenue Commissioners have received a protective notification from, or on behalf of, a person then in relation to the transaction which was the subject of the protective notification—
(i) paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 811C(6) shall not apply, and
(ii) where a Revenue officer, pursuant to section 811C(4), makes or amends an assessment to withdraw or deny a tax advantage arising out of or by reason of a tax avoidance transaction—
(I) the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall not apply, and
(II) any tax due and payable by a person as a result of the tax advantage being withdrawn or denied shall be deemed to be due and payable not later than one month from the date of the assessment or amended assessment as appropriate.
(b) Where a notification which purports to be a protective notification has been received by the Revenue Commissioners and a Revenue officer determines that the notification is not a protective notification, because it does not comply with one or more of the requirements set out in the definition of protective notification in this section, and—
(i) commences carrying out enquiries as if section 811C(6)(a) applied, a taxpayer who is aggrieved by such enquiries, on the grounds that the person considers that the officer was precluded from making that enquiry by reason of paragraph (a)(i), may appeal to the Appeal Commissioners and subsections (5) to (8) of section 959Z shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to that appeal, or
(ii) makes or amends an assessment as if section 811C(6)(c) applied, a taxpayer who is aggrieved by the making of such an assessment, or, as the case may be, such amendment, on the grounds that the person considers that the officer was precluded from making the assessment or, as the case may be, the amendment, by reason of paragraph (a)(i), may appeal to the Appeal Commissioners and subsections (2) and (3) of section 959AF shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to that appeal.
(5)
(a) Where a person makes a qualifying avoidance disclosure in relation to a transaction which is not a disclosable transaction, then—
(i) if a Revenue officer has not commenced any inquiry into the transaction and the disclosure is made within a period of 24 months from the end of the chargeable period in which the transaction was commenced, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall not apply,
(ii) if a Revenue officer has not withdrawn or denied a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti-avoidance provision, as the case may be, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 3 per cent,
(iii) if a Revenue officer has withdrawn or denied a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti-avoidance provision, as the case may be, and no appeal in relation to that withdrawal or denial has been made, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 5 per cent,
(iv) if a person has made an appeal in relation to the withdrawal or denial of a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti- avoidance provision, as the case may be, and that appeal has not yet been heard by the Appeal Commissioners, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 10 per cent,
and, if the case does not fall within any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv), then the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 30 per cent.
(b) Where a person makes a qualifying avoidance disclosure in relation to a transaction which is a disclosable transaction, then—
(i) if a Revenue officer has not commenced any inquiry into the transaction and the disclosure is made within a period of 24 months from the end of the chargeable period in which the transaction was commenced, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 3 per cent,
(ii) if a Revenue officer has not withdrawn or denied a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti-avoidance provision, as the case may be, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 6 per cent,
(iii) if a Revenue officer has withdrawn or denied a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti-avoidance provision, as the case may be, and no appeal in relation to that withdrawal or denial has been made, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 10 per cent,
(iv) if a person has made an appeal in relation to the withdrawal or denial of a tax advantage under section 811C or a specific anti- avoidance provision, as the case may be, and that appeal has not yet been heard by the Appeal Commissioners, the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 20 per cent,
and, if the case does not fall within any of subparagraphs (i) to (iv), then the surcharge referred to in subsection (3) shall be 30 per cent.
(6) Where a person makes a protective notification, or a protective notification is made on a person’s behalf, then the person shall be treated as making the protective notification—
(a) solely, by virtue of the operation of subsection (4)(a)(ii), to prevent a surcharge or interest becoming payable by the person, and
(b) wholly without prejudice as to whether the transaction concerned was a tax avoidance transaction.
(7) This section shall not apply to a transaction if any part of it was commenced on or before 23 October 2014.”,
and
- (d) by inserting the following after Schedule 32 to the Principal Act:
“Schedule 33
Specific Anti-Avoidance Provisions for the Purposes of Part 33
The following sections shall be specific anti-avoidance provisions for the purposes of Part 33:
Section 381B Section 381C Section 546A Section 590 Section 806 Section 807A Section 811B Section 812 Section 813 Section 814 Section 815 Section 816 Section 817 Section 817A Section 817B Section 817C ”.
- (2) The Principal Act is amended in the manner and to the extent specified in Schedule 1.
- (3) This section shall come into effect as and from 23 October 2014.
88. Amendment of Chapter 3 of Part 33 (mandatory disclosure and payment notices)
88. (1) Chapter 3 of Part 33 of the Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in section 817D(1) by—
- (i) inserting the following definitions after the definition of “disclosable transaction”:
“‘emoluments’ means emoluments to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 applies;
‘employee’ means any person in receipt of emoluments;
‘employer’ means any person paying emoluments;”,
- (ii) inserting the following definition after the definition of “promoter”:
“‘quarter’ means a period of 3 months ending on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December;”,
- (iii) inserting the following definitions after the definition of “relevant date”:
“‘return’ means any return, claim, application, notification, election, declaration, nomination, statement, list, registration, particulars or other information, which a person is or may be required by the Acts to give to the Revenue Commissioners or any Revenue officer;
‘Revenue officer’ means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;
‘specified date’ means—
(a) in relation to a promoter, the relevant date, and
(b) in relation to a person other than a promoter, the date the person first enters into any transaction which is or forms part of a disclosable transaction;”,
- (iv) in the definition of “specified description”, by substituting “section 817DA” for “subsection (2) ”,
- (v) in the definition of “specified information”, by substituting “, in respect of a disclosable transaction, the information set out in subsection (2)(a) and subparagraphs (i) to (iii), as the case may be, of subsection (2)(b) ” for “any information specified in regulations made under section 817Q”,
- (vi) deleting the definition of “specified period”,
- (vii) inserting the following definition after the definition of “transaction”:
“‘transaction number’ means the number assigned to a transaction by the Revenue Commissioners under section 817HB;”,
and
- (viii) substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):
“(2) For the purposes of the definition of ‘specified information’ in the preceding subsection, the following provisions specify the information concerned:
(a) such information as might reasonably be expected to enable the manner in which the disclosable transaction operates, or is intended to operate, to be fully understood by a Revenue officer, and, in all cases, includes—
(i) full reference to the provisions of this Chapter by virtue of which the person by whom, or on whose behalf, the information is being provided considers that the transaction is disclosable,
(ii) a summary of the disclosable transaction and the name (if any) by which it is known,
(iii) full reference to the provisions of the Acts that are considered by the person to be relevant to the treatment of the disclosable transaction for tax purposes, and
(iv) full details of the disclosable transaction explaining each element of the transaction (including the way in which the transaction is structured) from which the tax advantage expected to be obtained under the transaction arises and how, in the opinion of the person by whom, or on whose behalf, the information is being provided, each provision of the Acts referred to in subparagraph (iii) applies, or as the case may be, does not apply to the transaction,
(b) where—
(i) the information is required to be disclosed by a promoter under section 817E, the following information, namely, the name, address, telephone number and tax reference number of the promoter,
(ii) the information is required to be disclosed by a person under section 817F, 817H(1) or 817L, the following information, namely—
(I) the name, address, telephone number and tax reference number of the person, and
(II) the name, address and telephone number of the promoter,
or
(iii) the information is required to be disclosed by a person under section 817G, the following information, namely, the name, address, telephone number and tax reference number of the person;”,
- (b) by inserting the following after section 817D:
“References to ‘specified description’ — classes of transaction for purposes of that expression
817DA. (1) For the purposes of this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a specified description shall be construed as a reference to a class of transaction to which any of subsections (2) to (10) applies.
(2) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, where, but for the provisions of this Chapter, a promoter or person would, or might reasonably be expected to, wish to keep the transaction or any element of the transaction (including the way in which the transaction is structured) which gives rise to the tax advantage expected to be obtained, confidential from—
(a) the Revenue Commissioners, at any time after the specified date, and a purpose for doing so would be—
(i) to facilitate repeated or continued use of the same, or substantially the same, transaction in the future,
(ii) to prevent the Revenue Commissioners from using the information relating to the transaction to enquire into any return, or
(iii) to prevent the Revenue Commissioners from using the information relating to the transaction to withhold a refund or repayment of, or a payment of, any amount claimed separately from a return under any of the provisions of the Acts,
(b) any other promoter, at any time after the specified date, and a purpose for doing so would be to maintain competitive advantage.
(3)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, where it might reasonably be expected that a promoter, or a person connected (within the meaning of section 10) with a promoter, of transactions that are the same as, or substantially the same as, the transaction concerned, would, but for the requirements of this Chapter, be able to obtain a premium fee from, or charge a premium fee to, a person implementing such transaction, being a person experienced in receiving services of the type being provided.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection—
‘premium fee’, in relation to a transaction, means a fee chargeable by virtue of the transaction from which the tax advantage expected to be obtained arises and which is—
- (i) to a significant extent attributable to that tax advantage, or - (ii) to any extent contingent upon the obtaining of that tax advantage; ‘fee’, in relation to a transaction, includes any consideration, in whatever form, which is attributable to the provision of the transaction, whether the consideration is provided directly or indirectly.(4)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, which is a standardised tax product.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, a transaction is a standardised tax product if a promoter makes, or intends to make, the transaction available for implementation by more than one person and the transaction is—
(i) one which has, or is intended to have standardised, or substantially standardised, documentation—
(I) the purpose of which is to enable the implementation, by a person, of the transaction, and
(II) the form of which is determined by the promoter and not tailored, to any material extent, to reflect the circumstances of the person implementing the transaction,
and
(ii) one which requires the person implementing it to enter into a specific transaction, or series of transactions, that are standardised, or substantially standardised, in form.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) and without prejudice to subsection (2) or (3), a transaction shall not be a standardised tax product where it is a transaction of a kind specified in the Schedule to regulations made under section 817Q.
(5) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, where the promoter expects more than one individual to implement the same, or substantially the same, transaction and the transaction is such that an informed observer, having examined it, could reasonably conclude—
(a) that a main outcome of the transaction that could be expected for some or all of the individuals participating in it is the provision of losses, and
(b) that those individuals would be expected to use such losses to reduce their liability to income tax or capital gains tax.
(6)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, where one of the parties to the transaction is a company that has, or expects to have, unrelieved losses at the end of an accounting period and an informed observer, having examined the transaction, could reasonably conclude that a main benefit of the transaction is—
(i) that the company transfers those losses to another party who would be expected to use them to reduce its corporation tax liability, or
(ii) that the company is able to use those losses to reduce its corporation tax liability.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, ‘unrelieved losses at the end of an accounting period’ means trading losses in respect of which relief could not have been given (but for the transaction) for that, or any previous, accounting period.
(7)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction, or any part of a transaction, where a tax advantage is obtained, or might be expected to be obtained, by virtue of a transaction, or any part of a transaction, by way of a reduction in, or deferment of, liability to tax, by the employer or the employee or by any other person by reason of the employee’s employment—
(i) where the tax advantage relates to employment income, in any year of assessment, or
(ii) in any other case, in any period of account.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection ‘employment income’ means salaries, fees, wages, perquisites, benefits or profits (by whatever name called, including expenses) from an office or employment.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) and without prejudice to subsection (2) or (3), a transaction shall not be a transaction of a kind described in this subsection where it is a transaction of a kind specified in the Schedule to regulations made under section 817Q.
(8)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction where, as a consequence of the transaction, or part of the transaction, a person who would otherwise incur, or be expected to incur, a liability to income tax in any tax year, will—
(i) incur, or be expected to incur, a lesser or nil liability to income tax chargeable in that year, and
(ii) acquire an asset, the disposal of which would, in principle, give rise to a chargeable gain.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) a chargeable gain includes a gain on the disposal of assets that are exempt from capital gains tax or relieved from capital gains tax under any of the provisions of the Acts.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) and without prejudice to subsection (2) or (3), a transaction shall not be a transaction of a kind described in this subsection where it is a transaction of a kind specified in the Schedule to regulations made under section 817Q.
(9) This subsection applies to a transaction where, as a consequence of the transaction, or part of a transaction, a person who would otherwise incur, or be expected to incur, a liability to income tax in any tax year will—
(a) incur, or be expected to incur, a lesser or nil liability to income tax chargeable in that year, and
(b) be deemed to take a gift by virtue of section 5(1) of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003.
(10)
(a) This subsection applies to a transaction, or part of a transaction, where a party to that transaction is a trustee of a discretionary trust.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) and without prejudice to subsection (2) or (3), a transaction shall not be a transaction of a kind described in this subsection where it is a transaction of a kind specified in the Schedule to regulations made under section 817Q.”,
- (c) by substituting the following section for section 817E:
“Duties of promoter
817E. Subject to this Chapter, a promoter shall—
(a) within 5 working days after the specified date, provide the Revenue Commissioners with specified information relating to any disclosable transaction, and
(b) provide any person—
(i) to whom the promoter has made a disclosable transaction available for implementation, or
(ii) who markets or seeks to market the disclosable transaction,
with the transaction number for that disclosable transaction within 5 working days after receipt of the transaction number from the Revenue Commissioners or within 5 working days after making the scheme available to the person, whichever is the later.”,
- (d) by inserting the following section after section 817H:
“Duty of person who obtains tax advantage
817HA. (1) Any person who obtains or seeks to obtain a tax advantage from a disclosable transaction shall be a chargeable person for the purposes of Part 41A.
(2) A person who enters into any transaction which is or forms part of a disclosable transaction shall, in a timely manner, provide any other person who obtains or seeks to obtain a tax advantage from that disclosable transaction with the transaction number for that disclosable transaction so as to allow that person comply with their obligations under this section.
(3) A person who obtains or seeks to obtain a tax advantage from a disclosable transaction shall include the transaction number relating to the disclosable transaction in the return, within the meaning of Part 41A, for any chargeable period, within the meaning of Part 41A, in which the person—
(a) entered into any transaction which is or forms part of a disclosable transaction, or
(b) obtains, or seeks to obtain, a tax advantage from the disclosable transaction.
(4) Where a person who obtains or seeks to obtain a tax advantage from a disclosable transaction which was not assigned a transaction number, or where that person was not provided with a transaction number, then that person shall be deemed to have complied with the obligation under subsection (3) if that person—
(a) did not have an obligation to disclose that transaction under section 817F, 817G or 817H,
(b) provides a Revenue officer with the specified information in relation to that transaction, and
(c) without unreasonable delay, provides a Revenue officer with any other information that the officer may reasonably require for the purposes of deciding if an application should be made to the relevant court under section 817O(3)(a).
Duty of Revenue Commissioners
817HB. (1) Subject to subsection (2), where the Revenue Commissioners receive specified information in relation to a disclosable transaction under section 817E, 817F, 817G, 817H or 817L they shall, within 90 days after such receipt—
(a) assign a unique transaction number to the disclosable transaction and notify the promoter, or the person who entered into the transaction, as the case may be, of that transaction number, or
(b) determine whether or not the transaction was a disclosable transaction and notify the promoter, or person who entered into the transaction, as the case may be, accordingly.
(2) Where the Revenue Commissioners request supplemental information in relation to a transaction under section 817K, the reference in subsection (1) to 90 days after receipt of the specified information shall be construed as a reference to 90 days after the day on which the Revenue Commissioners receive all such supplemental information.”,
- (e) in section 817L by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):
“(4)
(a) Where a person is a marketer of a transaction that it would be reasonable to consider is a disclosable transaction and the promoter of that transaction has not provided the marketer with a transaction number for that transaction in accordance with section 817E, then within 30 working days from making the first marketing contact in relation to that transaction, the marketer shall provide the Revenue Commissioners with—
(i) the name and address of the promoter of the transaction,
(ii) details of the transaction, and
(iii) all materials, whether provided by the promoter or otherwise, used to make a marketing contact in relation to the transaction.
(b) Where a marketer provides information to Revenue in accordance with this subsection, then this shall be wholly without prejudice as to whether or not the transaction is a disclosable transaction.”,
- (f) in section 817M—
- (i) in subsection (1) by substituting the following for paragraphs (a) and (b):
“(a) within the period of 30 days beginning on the day after the day on which—
(i) the promoter first makes the transaction concerned available to a person for implementation, or
(ii) in a case where the relevant date is the date referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘relevant date’, the promoter first becomes aware of any transaction which is or forms part of the disclosable transaction having been implemented,
and
(b) subject to subsection (3), within the period of 5 days beginning on the day after the end of each quarter thereafter,”,
and
- (ii) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
“(3) Subsection (1)(b) shall not apply to a quarter during which the promoter—
(a) has not made the disclosable transaction available to a person for implementation, or
(b) has provided the Revenue Commissioners with a client list in accordance with subsection (1)(a) and has not made the disclosable transaction available to any other person for implementation in the period from the date the client list was provided to the Revenue Commissioners to the last day of the quarter concerned.
(4) A client list required to be provided to the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with subsection (1)(b) (in this subsection referred to as the ‘latest client list’) shall not include the name, address and tax reference number of any person who has been included in a client list in respect of the disclosable transaction to which the latest client list relates, in any preceding quarter.”,
- (g) in section 817N—
- (i) in subsection (1) by substituting “whether or not the disclosable transaction concerned was a tax avoidance transaction within the meaning of section 811C.” for “whether any opinion that the disclosable transaction concerned was a tax avoidance transaction, if such an opinion were to be formed by the Revenue Commissioners, would be correct.”,
- (ii) in subsection (2) by substituting “whether or not the disclosable transaction concerned was a tax avoidance transaction within the meaning of section 811C.” for “whether any opinion that the disclosable transaction concerned was a tax avoidance transaction, if such an opinion were to be formed by the Revenue Commissioners, would be correct.”,
- (iii) in subsection (3) by substituting “811A or 811D” for “811A”, and
- (iv) in subsection (4) by substituting “section 811, 811A, 811C or 811D” for “section 811 or 811A”,
- (h) in section 817O—
- (i) in subsection (1)(a) —
- (I) by substituting “817H(3), 817HA(2), 817I,” for “817H(3), 817I”, and
- (II) by substituting “under that subparagraph,” for “under that subparagraph, and”,
- (ii) in subsection (1)(b) by substituting the following for “subparagraph.”:
“subparagraph,
and
- (c) where the failure relates to the obligation imposed on a person under section 817HA(3), be liable to a penalty not exceeding €5,000.”,
- (iii) in subsection (3)(a) by substituting “subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) ” for “subsection (1)(a) or (b) ”, and
- (iv) by deleting subsection (8),
- (i) in section 817P by substituting the following subsection for subsection (5):
“(5) Where the Appeal Commissioners make a determination in accordance with paragraph (a)(i), (b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i) or (e)(i), as the case may be, of subsection (2) —
(a) the information or documents to be made available to the Revenue Commissioners by a person on foot of the determination (where the determination is made in accordance with paragraph (a)(i), (b)(i) or (c)(i) of that subsection), or
(b) the specified information to be made available to the Revenue Commissioners by a person in consequence of the determination (where the determination is made in accordance with paragraph (d)(i) or (e)(i) of that subsection),
shall be made available within the period of 5 days beginning on the day after the date of the determination.”,
and
- (j) in section 817Q—
- (i) in subsection (1) —
- (I) by deleting paragraphs (a) to (g),
- (II) in paragraph (h) by substituting “transaction,” for “transaction, and”,
- (III) in paragraph (i) by substituting “necessary, and” for “necessary.”, and
- (IV) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (i):
- “(j) specifying transactions which are not disclosable transactions.”,
and
- (ii) by deleting subsection (2).
- (2) Part 33 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following Chapter after section 817R:
“Chapter 4
Payment notices and scheme participants
Payment notices
817S. (1) In this Chapter—
‘assessment’ has the meaning given to it in section 960A;
‘disclosable transaction’ has the meaning given to it in section 817D;
‘Revenue officer’ means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;
‘specified information’ has the meaning given to it in section 817D;
‘specific anti-avoidance provision’ means a provision specified in Schedule 33;
‘tax advantage’—
(a) subject to paragraph (b), has the meaning given to it in section 817D, or
(b) where this Chapter falls to be applied to a tax avoidance transaction, has the meaning given to it in section 811C(1),
and a proposal for a transaction shall be construed accordingly;
‘tax avoidance transaction’ has the meaning given to it in section 811C(1) ;
‘transaction’—
(a) subject to paragraph (b), has the meaning given to it in section 817D, or
(b) where this Chapter falls to be applied to a tax avoidance transaction, has the meaning given to it in section 811C(1),
and a proposal for a transaction shall be construed accordingly;
‘transaction number’ has the meaning given to it in section 817D.
(2) This subsection applies where, as a result of a person entering into a transaction that is—
(a) a tax avoidance transaction,
(b) a disclosable transaction, or
(c) a transaction to which a specific anti-avoidance provision applies,
a Revenue officer makes or amends an assessment the effect of which is to deny or withdraw a tax advantage arising out of the transaction.
(3) Where—
(a) subsection (2) applies, and
(b) an assessment referred to in that subsection has been appealed to the Appeal Commissioners,
and—
- (i) the Appeal Commissioners have determined the appeal, and - (ii) the Appeal Commissioners have made a determination other than one that the assessment should be reduced by the full amount of the tax advantage, a Revenue officer may send, or cause to be sent, a notice (in this Chapter referred to as a ‘payment notice’) to the appellant requiring immediate payment of the amount stated in the payment notice.(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), the amount stated in the payment notice shall be the lower of—
(a) the amount charged by the assessment resulting from the denial or withdrawal of the tax advantage referred to in subsection (2), or
(b) the tax that would be due and payable under an assessment if no notice was given under section 941(2) or 942(1).
(5) A person to whom a payment notice is sent shall pay the amount stated in a payment notice notwithstanding that that person may be entitled to require that, in relation to a determination referred to in subsection (3) —
(a) an appeal be reheard by a Judge of the Circuit Court, or
(b) the Appeal Commissioners state and sign a case for the opinion of the High Court.
(6) Where tax stated in a payment notice is paid and the assessment in respect of which the tax was paid subsequently becomes final and conclusive for a lower amount of tax than was paid—
(a) the amount overpaid shall be repaid with interest in accordance with section 865A, section 159B of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, section 105 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 or section 57(6) of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, as if a valid claim to repayment was made on a day that is 93 days before the date payment was received by the Revenue Commissioners on foot of the payment notice, but no such repayment shall be made until such time as an assessment has become final and conclusive, and
(b) section 865(4), section 159A of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, section 99(4) of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 or section 57(3) of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 shall not apply in relation to any repayment to be made.
(7) Section 960E(2) shall apply as if a payment notice sent by a Revenue officer was a demand made by the Collector-General for tax that is due and payable.
Payment notices and scheme participants
817T. (1) In this section—
- (a) a reference to a ‘scheme’ is a reference to a transaction to which section 817S(2) applies, and - (b) a reference to a ‘scheme participant’ is a reference to a person who enters into such transaction or a substantially similar transaction.
(2) For the purpose of this section, a transaction (‘the second transaction’) shall be the same transaction or substantially similar to another transaction (‘the first transaction’) where—
(a) section 817S(3) applies in relation to the first transaction and in the opinion of a Revenue officer, the provisions of the Acts or the principles and reasoning given by the Appeal Commissioners in making a determination in relation to the first transaction would, if applied in making a determination in an appeal against an assessment, being an assessment—
(i) made or amended by a Revenue officer in relation to the second transaction, and
(ii) the effect of which is to deny or withdraw a tax advantage arising out of the second transaction,
result in a determination other than one that that assessment should be reduced by the full amount of the tax advantage,
(b) both transactions were assigned the same transaction number under section 817HB(1)(a),
(c) a transaction is one to which section 817J applies, and two or more transactions would have been assigned the same transaction number if they had been disclosed by a promoter under section 817E rather than by the person who entered into the transaction under section 817H, or
(d) specified information was not provided to the Revenue Commissioners and the transactions were not assigned a transaction number, but had they been assigned a transaction number, both transactions would have been assigned the same transaction number.
(3) Where a person to whom a Revenue officer may send, or cause to be sent, a payment notice under section 817S(3) is a scheme participant, a Revenue officer may send a payment notice to any other scheme participants notwithstanding that an assessment made in respect of those scheme participants has been appealed and the appeal has not yet been determined by the Appeal Commissioners.
(4) The payment notice referred to in subsection (3) shall—
(a) state the amount of the tax assessed on a scheme participant resulting from the denial or withdrawal of a tax advantage, having had regard to the determination referred to in section 817S(3),
(b) state the transaction number, if any, which was assigned to the scheme,
(c) state the reasons why the transaction entered into by the scheme participant in receipt of the payment notice and the scheme participant who has received a determination from the Appeal Commissioners is the same or substantially similar, and
(d) have appended to it a copy of the determination.
(5) A scheme participant may request a Revenue officer to review the payment notice by submitting a notice (in this section referred to as a ‘review notice’) in writing within 30 days from the payment notice giving reasons why the scheme participant does not consider a transaction entered into by that person to be the same as, or substantially similar to, the transaction in respect of which another scheme participant has received a payment notice under section 817S(3).
(6) A Revenue officer shall consider a review notice received from a scheme participant and shall make a determination that either confirms or withdraws a payment notice.
(7) A scheme participant who is aggrieved by a determination referred to in subsection (6) may appeal the determination to the Appeal Commissioners by notice in writing to the Revenue officer within 30 days from the date of the determination, being a notice—
(a) that states the grounds for the appeal, and
(b) to which there is appended a copy of the determination.
(8) Where more than one scheme participant in the same scheme has submitted a notice of appeal under subsection (7), the Appeal Commissioners may in adjudicating and determining an appeal if they consider it appropriate to do so—
(a) have regard to any determination previously made in respect of scheme participants,
(b) consolidate or hear together two or more appeals, or
(c) determine not to hold a hearing.
(9) The Appeal Commissioners’ determination of an appeal made under subsection (7) shall be final and conclusive.
(10) Any obligation on the Revenue Commissioners to maintain secrecy or any other restriction on the disclosure of information by the Revenue Commissioners shall not apply with respect to the giving of a payment notice under subsection (3).
(11) Subsections (5), (6) and (7) of section 817S shall apply to a payment notice issued under this section as if it were a notice issued under section 817S.”.
- (3) The Principal Act is amended in the manner and to the extent specified in Schedule 2.
- (4) Subsections (1) and (3) shall apply to a transaction which is commenced after 23 October 2014.
89. Returns of profits, electronic transmission of returns, and requirements for returns for corporation tax purposes: submission of accounts information
89. The Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in section 884—
- (i) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2A):
- “(2A) The authority under subsection (2) to require the delivery of accounts as part of a return is limited to such accounts, as, together with such documents as may be annexed thereto and such further information, statements, reports or further particulars as may be required by the notice referred to in subsection (2) or specified in the prescribed form in respect of the return, contain sufficient information to enable the chargeable profits of the company to be determined.”,
and
- (ii) by the deletion of subsection (2B),
- (b) in section 917F(2)(b) by substituting “any information, accounts, statements, reports or further particulars” for “any particulars”, and
- (c) in section 959K—
- (i) in paragraph (a) by substituting “matters, information, accounts, statements, reports and further particulars” for “matters and particulars”, and
- (ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “such information, accounts, statements, reports and further particulars” for “further particulars”.
90. Amendment of section 851A of Principal Act (confidentiality of taxpayer information)
90. Section 851A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (8):
“(8A) Where a company is in receipt of relief from tax in relation to the production of a qualifying film under section 481, the Revenue Commissioners may disclose the following taxpayer information:
(a) the name of the company;
(b) the name of the film;
(c) the total cost of the production of the film;
(d) the amount of the tax relief given.”.
91. Amendment of section 886 of Principal Act (obligation to keep certain records)
91. Section 886 of the Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in subsection (4)(a)(ii) by substituting “transactions, acts or operations, or” for “transactions, acts or operations.”,
- (b) in subsection (4)(a) by inserting the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):
“(iii) where the transaction, act or operation is the subject of—
(I) an inquiry or investigation started by the Revenue Commissioners or by a Revenue officer into any matters to which this Act relates,
(II) a claim under a provision of this Act,
(III) proceedings relating to any matter to which this Act relates,
linking documents and records shall be retained by the person required to keep the records for the 6 year period and until such time as—
(A) the enquiry or investigation has been completed or the claim has been determined, and
(B) any appeal to Appeal Commissioners in relation to that enquiry or the determination of that claim or to any other matter to which the Act relates, has become final and conclusive, and
(C) any proceedings in relation to the outcome of the inquiry or investigation or the determination of that claim or that appeal, or to any other matter to which the Act relates, has been finally determined, and
(D) the time limit for instituting any appeal or proceedings or any further appeal or proceedings has expired.”,
- (c) in subsection (4A) by substituting “subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) ” for “subparagraph (i) or (ii) ”,
- (d) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4A):
- “(4B) For the purposes of this section, where a person dies the executor or administrator of that deceased person shall keep or retain the linking documents and records of that deceased person for the period specified in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii), as appropriate, of subsection (4)(a).”,
and
- (e) in subsection (5) by substituting “(4), (4A) or (4B)” for “(4) or (4A)”.
92. Amendment of section 891B of Principal Act (returns of certain payments made by certain persons)
92. Section 891B of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) —
- (a) in the definition of “financial institution” by inserting the following after paragraph (a):
- “(aa) an agent appointed by the National Treasury Management Agency to carry out certain functions of the National Treasury Management Agency in relation to State savings products,”,
and
- (b) by inserting the following definition:
“‘State savings products’ means savings products offered by the Minister for Finance through the National Treasury Management Agency, including Post Office Savings Bank accounts and prize bonds;”.
93. Amendment of section 960S of Principal Act (security for certain taxes)
93. Section 960S of the Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in subsection (1) by deleting the definitions of “business”, “connected person” and “management of the business”,
- (b) by substituting the following for subsection (2):
- “(2) The Revenue Commissioners may, where it appears requisite to them to do so for the protection of the revenue, require a person carrying on a business, to give security, or further security, of such amount and in such manner and form as they may determine, for the payment of any tax which is, or may become, due from that person from the date of service on that person of a notice in writing to that effect.”,
and
- (c) in subsections (3) and (4) by substituting “Revenue Commissioners” for “Collector-General” in each place.
94. Amendment of section 1084 of Principal Act (surcharge for late returns)
94. (1) Section 1084 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(b) —
- (a) by substituting the following for subparagraph (i):
“(i) (I) subject to clause (II), where a person deliberately delivers an incorrect return of income as set out in section 1077E(2) or carelessly delivers an incorrect return of income as set out in section 1077E(5) on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period, the person shall be deemed to have failed to deliver the return of income on or before that date unless the error in the return of income is remedied on or before that date,
(II) clause (I) shall not apply where a person—
(A) deliberately delivers an incorrect return of income as set out in section 1077E(2) or carelessly delivers an incorrect return of income as set out in section 1077E(5) on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period, and
(B) pays the full amount of any penalty referred to in either of the provisions referred to in subclause (A) to which the person is liable,”,
and
- (b) in subparagraph (ii) by substituting “neither deliberately nor carelessly” for “neither fraudulently nor negligently”.
- (2) This section shall apply in respect of returns of income (within the meaning of section 1084 of the Principal Act) delivered on or after the date of the passing of this Act.
95. Tax clearance certificates
95. (1) The Principal Act is amended—
- (a) in section 1094—
- (i) in subsection (1) by inserting the following definitions:
“‘PPS number’ in relation to an individual, means the individual’s personal public service number within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;
‘tax clearance access number’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (5)(b);
‘tax reference number’, in relation to a person, means—
(a) in the case of an individual, the individual’s PPS number, and
(b) in any other case—
(i) the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued to the person by a Revenue officer, or
(ii) the registration number assigned to that person under section 65 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010;”,
- (ii) by inserting the following after subsection (2):
- “(2A) Compliance with the obligations imposed on a person referred to in subsection (2) may be reviewed from time to time by the Collector-General and a tax clearance certificate issued under subsection (2) may be rescinded by the Collector-General where those obligations are found at the time of any review not to be complied with.”,
- (iii) by substituting the following for subsection (5):
“(5)
(a) A person applying for a tax clearance certificate under this section shall apply to the Collector-General in such electronic format as the Revenue Commissioners require.
(b) A tax clearance certificate issued to a person under this section shall include a unique number (in this section referred to as the ‘tax clearance access number’) assigned by the Collector-General.
(c) A person to whom a tax clearance certificate is issued under this section shall provide the tax reference number and tax clearance access number to any person who is required to verify the validity of the tax clearance certificate using those numbers.
(d) Where a person who is required to verify the validity of a tax clearance certificate is provided with any person’s tax reference number and tax clearance access number for the purpose of verifying the validity of the certificate, those numbers shall be used by the person for that purpose only and shall not be used by that person at any other time or for any other purpose.”,
- (iv) in subsection (6) —
- (I) by inserting “or rescinded” after “refused”, and
- (II) by inserting “or rescission” after “refusal”,
in each place,
- (v) in subsection (7) —
- (I) by inserting “or rescinded” after “refused”, and
- (II) by inserting “or rescission” after “refusal”,
in each place,
- (vi) by substituting the following for subsection (8):
“(8) The following shall be in such electronic format as the Revenue Commissioners may make available for the time being for any such purpose:
(a) applications made for tax clearance certificates;
(b) the issue of tax clearance certificates by the Collector-General;
(c) the refusal or rescission of tax clearance certificates by the Collector-General;
(d) the verification of tax clearance certificates by persons who are required to verify such certificates.”,
and
- (vii) by deleting subsection (9),
and
- (b) in section 1095—
- (i) by inserting the following after subsection (3):
- “(3A) Compliance with the obligations imposed on a person or persons referred to in subsection (3) may be reviewed from time to time by the Collector-General and a tax clearance certificate issued under subsection (2) may be rescinded by the Collector-General where those obligations are found at the time of review not to be complied with.”,
and
- (ii) in subsection (6) by substituting “to (8) ” for “to (9) ”.
- (2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.
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