Finance Act, 1995

Compulsory disposals of livestock.

22.—(1) In this section—

“accounting period” means—

(a) in relation to a company, an accounting period determined in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , and

(b) in relation to a person other than a body corporate, a period determined in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of the Finance Act, 1976 ;

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

“excess” means the excess of the relevant amount over the value of the stock to which this section applies at the beginning of the accounting period in which the disposal takes place;

“farming” has the same meaning as it has in Chapter II of Part I of the Finance Act, 1974 ;

“person” means a person who is resident in the State and not resident elsewhere and includes a body corporate;

“relevant amount” means the amount of any income received by a person as a result, or in consequence, of a disposal of stock to which this section applies;

“specified return date for the chargeable period” has the same meaning as it has in section 9 of the Finance Act, 1988 ;

“stock to which this section applies” means cattle forming part of the trading stock of a trade of farming where all such cattle are compulsorily disposed of on or after the 6th day of April, 1993, under any statute relating to the eradication or control of diseases in livestock:

Provided that, for the purposes of this section, all such cattle shall be regarded as compulsorily disposed of where, in the case of any disease eradication scheme relating to the eradication or control of brucellosis in livestock, all eligible cattle for the purposes of any such scheme, together with such other cattle as are required to be disposed of, are disposed of;

“trading stock” has the same meaning as it has in section 31 of the Finance Act, 1975 .

(2) Where stock to which this section applies is disposed of in an accounting period by a person carrying on a trade of farming, the person may elect to have the excess treated in accordance with the following provisions of this section and such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts, where a person elects in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2), the excess shall be disregarded as respects the accounting period in which it arises and shall instead be treated for the purposes of the said Acts as arising in equal instalments in each of the two immediately succeeding accounting periods:

Provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, where the person further elects, the excess shall be treated as arising in such equal instalments in the accounting period in which it arises and in the immediately succeeding accounting period.

(4) Where, not later than the end of the succeeding accounting period or succeeding accounting periods, as appropriate, referred to in subsection (3), the person incurs expenditure on the replacement of cattle in an amount not less than the relevant amount, the person shall be entitled to a deduction, in respect of the amount of the excess, under section 31A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1976 ) of the Finance Act, 1975 , or section 12 of the Finance Act, 1976 , as appropriate, such provisions being applied as if, in section 13 of the Finance Act, 1982 , “100 per cent.” were substituted for “25 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993 ):

Provided that, where the expenditure incurred on replacement as aforesaid is less than the relevant amount, the deduction in each of the two accounting periods referred to in subsection (3) or in the proviso thereto under the said section 31A or section 12, as appropriate, shall be reduced to an amount that bears the same proportion to the excess as the expenditure incurred in each of the said two accounting periods bears to the relevant amount.

(5) An election under this section shall be made by notice in writing made on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period in which the stock to which this section applies is compulsorily disposed of:

Provided that, where the specified return date was a date prior to the date of the passing of this Act, the said election shall be made on or before the 31st day of December, 1995.