Finance Act 2003

Amendment of Chapter 1 (income tax and corporation tax) of Part 45 of Principal Act.

51.—(1) Chapter 1 of Part 45 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 1035 by substituting “Subject to section 1035A, a non-resident person” for “A non-resident person”, and

(b) by inserting after section 1035 the following section:

“Relieving provision to section 1035.

1035A.—(1) In this section—

‘authorised agent’ means—

(a)  a person acting as an investment business firm, or an authorised member firm—

(i) under an authorisation given by the Central Bank of Ireland under section 10 (1) of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 or, as the case may be, section 18 of the Stock Exchange Act 1995 and not subsequently revoked, or

(ii) under an authorisation, which corresponds to either of the authorisations referred to in subparagraph (i), given by a competent authority in another Member State for the purpose of Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10 May 19931 as amended or extended from time to time, and not subsequently revoked,

or

(b)  a credit institution duly authorised by virtue of Directive No. 2000/12/EC of 20 March 20002 which provides investment business services and in so doing does not exceed the terms of its authorisation and that authorisation has not been revoked,

and ‘authorisation’ shall be construed accordingly;

‘authorised member firm’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Stock Exchange Act 1995 ;

‘competent authority’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 ;

‘financial trade’ means a trade exercised in the State by a non-resident person through an authorised agent under and within the terms of the authorised agent's authorisation;

‘investment business firm’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 ;

‘investment business services’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 .

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a)  an authorised agent, through whom a non-resident person exercises a financial trade in the State, is independent in relation to the non-resident person for a chargeable period if throughout the chargeable period—

(i) the authorised agent does not otherwise act on behalf of the non-resident person,

(ii) the authorised agent, when acting on behalf of the non-resident person, does so in an independent capacity,

(iii) the authorised agent, when acting on behalf of the non-resident person, does so in the ordinary course of the authorised agent's business, and

(iv) the requirements referred to in subsection (4), in relation to the financial trade, are satisfied,

(b)  an authorised agent shall not be regarded as acting in an independent capacity when acting on behalf of a non-resident person unless, having regard to its legal, financial and commercial characteristics, the relationship between them is a relationship between persons carrying on independent businesses that deal with each other at arm's length, and

(c)  references to an amount of profits or gains of a trade, exercised in the State by a non-resident person, to which another person has a beneficial entitlement are references to the amount of profits or gains of the trade to which the other person has, or may acquire, a beneficial entitlement by virtue of—

(i) any interest of the other person (whether or not an interest giving a right to an immediate payment of a share of the profits or gains of the trade) in property in which the whole or any part of the profits or gains of the trade are represented, or

(ii) any interest of the other person in, or other rights in relation to, the non-resident person.

(3) Notwithstanding section 18, a non-resident person shall not be assessable and chargeable to income tax in respect of any profits or gains arising or accruing for a chargeable period to the non-resident person from a financial trade exercised in the State solely through an authorised agent who throughout the chargeable period is independent in relation to the non-resident person.

(4) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied, at any time, in relation to a financial trade exercised in the State by a non-resident person through an authorised agent where at that time—

(a)  the aggregate of the amount of the profits or gains of the trade, to which the authorised agent and persons, who are both resident in the State and connected with the authorised agent, have a beneficial entitlement, does not exceed 20 per cent of the amount of the profits or gains of the trade, or

(b)  the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that it is the intention of the authorised agent, that the aggregate of the amount of the profits or gains of the trade, to which the authorised agent and persons who are resident in the State and connected with the authorised agent have beneficial entitlement, does not exceed 20 per cent of the amount of the profits or gains of the trade and that the reasons for the failure to fulfill that intention, at that time, are of a temporary nature.

(5) The Revenue Commissioners may nominate any of their officers to perform any acts and discharge any functions authorised by this section to be performed or discharged by them.”.

(2) This section is deemed to have applied in respect of chargeable periods commencing on or after 1 January 2002.

1 OJ No. L.141, of 11 June 1993, p.27.

2 OJ No. L.126, of 26 May 2000, p.1.