Finance Act, 1988

Chapter II

Arrangements with regard to Returns, Assessments and Appeals

Interpretation ( Chapter II ).

9.—(1) In this Chapter, except where the context otherwise requires—

“appeal” means an appeal under section 416 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ;

“appropriate inspector” means, in relation to a chargeable person—

(a) the inspector who has last given notice in writing to the chargeable person that he is the inspector to whom the chargeable person is required to deliver a return or statement of income or profits,

(b) in the absence of such an inspector as is referred to in paragraph (a), the inspector to whom it is customary for the chargeable person to deliver such return or statement, or

(c) in the absence of such an inspector as is referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), the inspector of returns;

“assessment” means an assessment to tax made under the Income Tax Acts or the Corporation Tax Acts, as the case may be;

“chargeable period” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ;

“chargeable person” means, as respects a chargeable period, a person who is chargeable to tax for that period, whether on his own account or on account of some other person, but does not include a person—

(a) whose total income for the chargeable period consists solely of emoluments to which Chapter IV of Part V of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , applies, and for this purpose a person whose total income for the chargeable period, other than emoluments to which the said Chapter IV applies, is deducted in determining the amount of his tax-free allowances for the chargeable period by virtue of Regulation 10 (1) (b) of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 28 of 1960 ), shall be deemed for that chargeable period to be a person whose total income consists solely of emoluments to which the said Chapter IV applies,

(b) who, for the chargeable period, has been exempted by an inspector from the requirements of section 10 by reason of a notice given under subsection (6) of that section, or

(c) who is chargeable to tax for the chargeable period by reason only of the provisions of section 433 or 434 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , or section 151 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ;

“determination of the appeal” means a determination by the Appeal Commissioners under section 416 (4) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and includes an agreement referred to in section 416 (3) of that Act and an assessment becoming final and conclusive by virtue of section 416 (6) of that Act;

“due date for the payment of an amount of preliminary tax” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18 (1);

“inspector”, in relation to any matter, includes such other officer as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf;

“inspector of returns” means the inspector nominated by the Revenue Commissioners under section 10 (11) to be the inspector of returns;

“precedent partner” has the same meaning as in Chapter III of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ;

“prescribed form” means a form prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners or a form used under the authority of the Revenue Commissioners and includes a form which involves the delivery of a return by any electronic, photographic or other process approved of by the Revenue Commissioners;

“preliminary tax” means the amount of tax which a chargeable person is required to pay in accordance with the provisions of section 11 ;

“relevant chargeable period” means—

(a) where the chargeable period is a year of assessment, the year 1988-89 and any subsequent year of assessment, or

(b) where the chargeable period is an accounting period of a company, an accounting period ending on or after such a date as may be prescribed by the Minister for Finance by regulations;

“specified return date for the chargeable period” means, in relation to a relevant chargeable period—

(a) where the chargeable period is a year of assessment, the 31st day of December in the year, and

(b) where the chargeable period is an accounting period of a company, the last day of the period of 9 months commencing on the day immediately following the end of the accounting period;

“specified sections” has the same meaning as in section 48 of the Finance Act, 1986 ;

“tax” has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph 1 (3) of the First Schedule to the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .

(2) Except in so far as it is otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply notwithstanding any other provisions of the Tax Acts or the Capital Gains Tax Acts.

(3) (a) Where any obligation or requirement is imposed on a person in any capacity under any of the provisions of this Chapter and a corresponding obligation or requirement is imposed upon that person in another capacity, the discharge of any one of those obligations or requirements shall not release the person from the other obligation or requirement.

(b) A person shall not, in any capacity, have an obligation or requirement imposed upon him under the provisions of this Chapter by reason only that he has such obligation or requirement imposed upon him in any other capacity.

(c) Where, but for any of the subsequent provisions of this Chapter, a person would have had any such obligation or requirement imposed upon him in more than one capacity, a release from such obligation or requirement under any of those provisions by reason of any fact or circumstance applying in relation to his liability to tax in any one capacity shall not release him from such obligation or requirement as is imposed upon him in a capacity other than that in which that fact or circumstance applies.

(4) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.