Finance Act, 1979

SECOND SCHEDULE

Relief for Certain Expenditure on Residential Premises

Section 7.

1. In section 7 and in this Schedule—

“authorised officer” means an inspector or other officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised by them in writing for the purposes of section 7 and this Schedule;

“certificate of registration” means a certificate issued under paragraph 5;

“labour cost”, in relation to qualifying work, means the cost of having the work performed but does not include the cost of any materials, tools, machinery or anything else, used in the carrying out of the work or the hire of tools, machinery, or anything else, so used;

“precedent partner” has the meaning assigned to it by Chapter III of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ;

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners;

“qualifying period” means the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1979, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1980;

“qualifying work” means any work of maintenance, repair, improvement, or insulation of residential premises;

“registered person” means a person to whom a certificate of registration has been issued and who has not been required pursuant to paragraph 7 to return the said certificate or whose certificate of registration has not been cancelled pursuant to that paragraph;

“residence of his” means, in relation to an individual, any residential premises at which he normally resides;

“residential premises” means—

(a) a building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling, and

(b) land which the occupier of a building or part of a building used as a dwelling has for his own occupation and enjoyment with the said building or part as its garden or grounds of an ornamental nature,

but does not include—

(i) a building or part of a building occupied for the first time as a dwelling after the 5th day of April, 1979, or

(ii) tangible movable property.

2. Where an individual wishes to claim a deduction under section 7 in respect of the labour cost of qualifying work carried out or to be carried out by a registered person, he shall—

(a) make an application on the prescribed form to the Revenue Commissioners for a form on which to claim the deduction (in this paragraph referred to as “a claim form”) bearing the name of the registered person, and

(b) complete the claim form (which shall be issued to him by the Revenue Commissioners if they are satisfied that the form ought to be issued to the said individual),

(c) deliver the completed form, together with one copy thereof and such statements in writing as may be indicated in the claim form, to the inspector of taxes, and

(d) deliver one copy of the completed claim form to the registered person.

3. (1) Where an individual has duly applied for a claim form, an authorised officer may at any reasonable time between the date on which the said application is made and the date on which the relevant deduction is made, enter the residential premises on which the qualifying work which is the subject of the claim is to be, or has been, carried out, for the purpose of enquiring into the accuracy of any particulars given under paragraph 2 in respect of the said work.

(2) Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the course of exercising a power conferred on him by this paragraph shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500.

4. (1) Relief from tax consequent on the allowance of a deduction under section 7 shall be given by way of repayment save that, if the Revenue Commissioners consider it appropriate to do so, effect may be given to the relief in the year 1979-80 otherwise than by way of repayment.

(2) Subject to subparagraph (1), all such provisions of the Income Tax Acts as apply in relation to every deduction specified in sections 138 to 143 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to any deduction under section 7.

5. (1) The Revenue Commissioners shall on application to them in that behalf on the prescribed form by a person issue to the person a certificate (referred to in section 7 and in this Schedule as “a certificate of registration”) if they are satisfied that the person or, in the case of a partnership each partner, is resident in the State.

(2) The Revenue Commissioners shall keep and maintain a register in which the name, address and type of work carried out by each person to whom a certificate of registration has been issued shall be entered and a copy of such register shall be kept and maintained in every office of the National Manpower Service and of inspectors of taxes and shall be available for inspection by any person.

6. A registered person shall—

(a) in the space provided therefor, sign the certificate of registration issued to him pursuant to paragraph 5 (1), and

(b) when requested to do so by an individual for whom qualifying work has been or is to be carried out—

(i) produce his certificate of registration for inspection by the individual,

(ii) provide the individual with such particulars as are available to him and as are required by the individual for the purposes of paragraph 2,

(iii) in the space provided, sign the forms required to be completed by the individual for the purposes of the said paragraph 2.

7. Where it appears to the Revenue Commissioners that—

(a) a certificate of registration was issued on the basis of false or misleading information,

(b) a certificate of registration would not have been issued if information of which they became aware subsequent to its issue had been available to them at the date of its issue,

(c) a person, to whom a certificate of registration was issued has permitted it to be misused,

(d) a person, to whom a certificate of registration was issued or, in the case of a partnership any partner, has ceased to be resident in the State, or

(e) a person to whom a certificate of registration was issued has failed to comply with any of the provisions of paragraph 6,

they may—

(I) cancel the certificate,

(II) require the person, to whom the certificate was issued, by notice in writing to return to them forthwith the said certificate, and

(III) remove the person's name from the register kept and maintained in accordance with paragraph 5 (2) and from every copy of such register.

8. (1) Where a person—

(a) for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of registration makes a false statement, or furnishes a document which is, to his knowledge, false in a material particular to the Revenue Commissioners or to an authorised officer,

(b) disposes of a certificate of registration otherwise than by the return of the said certificate to the Revenue Commissioners,

(c) fails to return a certificate of registration to the Revenue Commissioners when required to do so pursuant to paragraph 7,

(d) is in possession of a certificate of registration that was not issued to him by the Revenue Commissioners, or

(e) produces to an individual a certificate of registration after having been required by the Revenue Commissioners to return the certificate,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(2) Any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures—

(a) the obtaining of a certificate of registration by means of a false statement,

(b) the use by any person, other than the person to whom it was issued by the Revenue Commissioners, of a certificate of registration, or

(c) the production to an individual of a document that is not a certificate of registration but purports to be such a certificate,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(3) Any registered person who contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of paragraph 6 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500.

9. (1) Any notice, certificate or form which is required to be given, served, sent or issued under this section may be sent by post.

(2) In proceedings under paragraph 8—

(a) a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that he has examined the relevant records and that it appears from them that a stated notice was duly given to the defendant on a stated day shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that that person received the notice in the ordinary way,

(b) a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners which certifies that he has examined the relevant records, certificates or forms and that it appears that a stated certificate was not received from the defendant or that stated particulars were not furnished by him to a stated individual or that a stated certificate or form was not signed by the defendant in the space provided therefor shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that the defendant did not deliver that certificate or furnish that information or sign that certificate or form,

(c) a document purporting to be a certificate specified in subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be such a certificate, and to be signed by the person purporting to have signed it, unless the contrary is shown.

10. The power—

(a) to issue or cancel a certificate of registration,

(b) to require a person to return the certificate of registration issued to the said person,

(c) to remove a person's name from the register kept and maintained in accordance with paragraph 5 and from every copy of such register,

may be exercised by an inspector of taxes.

11. (1) All such acts as are by this Schedule required to be done by a person shall—

(a) in the case of a body of persons which is not a company, be done by the treasurer or other officer acting as such for the time being of the body of persons, and he shall be answerable for doing all such acts,

(b) in the case of a company, be done by the secretary of the company or other officer (by whatever name called) performing the duties of secretary, and he shall be answerable for doing all such acts.

(c) in the case of a partnership, be done by the precedent partner and he shall be answerable for doing all such acts.

(2) The reference to a registered person in paragraph 8 (3) shall, in the case of a partnership which is a registered person, be deemed to be a reference to the precedent partner of the said partnership.