Finance Act, 1963

Fraudulent return, etc.

58.—(1) Where a person fraudulently or negligently, for the purposes of this Part of this Act or of regulations made thereunder, produces, furnishes, gives, sends or otherwise makes use of, any incorrect return, account, estimate, statement, information, book, document, record or declaration, he shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section, be liable to a penalty of—

(a) one hundred pounds, and

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

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

(a) the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to one hundred pounds shall be construed as a reference to five hundred pounds, or, in the case of fraud, one thousand pounds, and

(b) the secretary shall be liable to a separate penalty of one hundred pounds, or in the case of fraud, two hundred pounds.

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

(4) If a person, in a case in which he represents that he is a registered person or uses a registration number, procures the supply to himself of goods or the provision for himself of services in circumstances in which tax is chargeable and fails to notify the seller or provider that the tax is chargeable, he shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred pounds, and, in addition, he shall be liable to pay to the Revenue Commissioners the amount of any tax, which the seller or provider has failed to pay.

(5) Notwithstanding anything in section 59 of this Act, proceedings 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 the said section 59.

(6) For the purposes of this section, any return, account, estimate, statement, information, book, document or declaration submitted on behalf of a person shall be deemed to have been submitted by that person unless he proves that it was submitted without his consent or knowledge.

(7) Any reference in the foregoing subsections of this section to an amount of tax includes a reference to interest payable in the case in question under section 55 of this Act.