Finance Act 2008

Amendment of section 8 (accountable persons) of Principal Act.

92.— Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting with effect from 1 July 2008 the following for subsection (1):

“(1) A taxable person who engages in the supply, within the State, of taxable goods or services shall be an accountable person and shall be accountable for and liable to pay the tax charged in respect of such supply. In addition the persons referred to in section 4B(3) and subsections (1A), (2), (2A) and (8) shall be accountable persons. However a person not established in the State who supplies goods in the State only in the circumstances set out in paragraph (f) or (g) of subsection (1A) or supplies a service in the State only in the circumstances set out in subsections (1B) and (2)(aa) shall not be an accountable person.”,

(b) in paragraph (f) of subsection (1A) with effect from 1 July 2008—

(i) by deleting subparagraph (iv), and

(ii) by substituting “an accountable person or be deemed to be an accountable person” for “a taxable person or be deemed to be a taxable person”,

(c) in paragraph (g) of subsection (1A) with effect from 1 July 2008—

(i) by substituting “Where a person” for “Where a taxable person”,

(ii) by deleting subparagraph (iv), and

(iii) by substituting “an accountable person or be deemed to be an accountable person” for “a taxable person or be deemed to be a taxable person”,

(d) by inserting the following after subsection (1A):

“(1B) (a) This subsection and sections 12(1)(vc) and 17(1C) shall be construed together with Chapter 2 of Part 18 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .

(b) With effect from 1 September 2008 where a principal, other than a principal to whom subparagraphs (ii) or (iii) of section 531 (1)(b) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 applies, receives services consisting of construction operations (as defined in paragraphs (a) to (f) of section 530(1) of that Act) from a subcontractor, then that principal shall in relation to that supply be an accountable person or deemed to be an accountable person and shall be liable to pay the tax chargeable as if that principal supplied those services in the course or furtherance of business and the subcontractor shall not be accountable for or liable to pay the said tax in respect of such supplies.

(c) This subsection does not apply to services in respect of which the supplier issued or was required to issue an invoice in accordance with section 17 prior to 1 September 2008.”,

(e) in subsections (3), (3A) and (9) with effect from 1 May 2008 by substituting “€37,500” for “€35,000” and by substituting “€75,000” for “€70,000” wherever it occurs, and

(f) in subsection (8)(a) with effect from 1 July 2008 by substituting “, at least one of which is a taxable person,” for “and engaged in the supply of goods or services in the course or furtherance of business”.