Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968

Limits of time for making of assessments and repayment claims.

4.—(1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for section 186 (2) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 :

“(2) (a) Subject to any provision allowing a longer period in any class of case, an assessment or an additional first assessment may be made at any time not later than ten years after the end of the year to which the assessment relates:

Provided that in a case in which any form of fraud or neglect has been committed by or on behalf of any person in connection with or in relation to income tax, an assessment or an additional first assessment may be made at any time for any year for which, by reason of the fraud or neglect, income tax would otherwise be lost to the Exchequer.

(b) (i) In a case in which emoluments to which this subparagraph applies are received in a year of assessment subsequent to that for which they are assessable, paragraph (a) shall have effect in the case of assessments or additional first assessments in respect of the emoluments subject to the substitution of a reference to the end of the year of assessment in which the emoluments were received for the reference to the end of the year to which the assessment relates.

(ii) The emoluments to which the foregoing subparagraph applies are emoluments as defined in section 110 (2), including any payments chargeable to tax by virtue of Chapter II of Part V and any sums which by virtue of Chapter III of Part V fall to be treated as perquisites of a person's office or employment, being emoluments, payments or sums other than those taken into account in an assessment to income tax for the year of assessment in which they are received; and for the purposes of this paragraph—

(I) any such payment shall, notwithstanding anything in section 114 (4), be treated as having been received at the time it was actually received, and

(II) any such sums which are not actually paid to that person shall be treated as having been received at the time when the relevant expenses were incurred or are treated for the purposes of the said Chapter III as having been incurred.

(c) An objection to the making of any assessment or additional first assessment on the ground that the time limited for the making thereof has expired shall only be made on appeal from the assessment.

(d) In this subsection ‘neglect’ means negligence or a failure to give any notice, to make any return, statement or declaration, or to produce or furnish any list, document or other information required by or under the Income Tax Acts:

Provided that a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if he did it within such further time, if any, as the Revenue Commissioners or officer concerned may have allowed; and where a person had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done, he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if he did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.”

(2) Where an assessment or an additional first assessment is proposed to be made by virtue of paragraph (a) or by virtue of paragraph (a) and (b) of the subsection substituted by subsection (1), it shall not be made—

(a) in case it is proposed to be made by virtue of the said paragraph (a), if it is an assessment relating to a year prior to the year 1961-62, or

(b) in case it is proposed to be made by virtue of the said paragraphs (a) and (b), if the time of receipt (within the meaning of the said paragraph (b)) of the emoluments, payments or sums was prior to the year 1961-62,

save in a case coming within the proviso to the said paragraph (a).

(3) Section 211 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (1) of “any year of assessment for which an assessment or an additional first assessment could have been made upon him immediately before his death, or could be made upon him if he were living,” for “the year of assessment in which such person dies or for any previous year”.

(b) by the addition to subsection (2) of the following paragraph:

“This subsection shall have effect notwithstanding section 186 (2).”

(4) The following subsection is hereby substituted for section 526 (6) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 :

“(6) An assessment or an additional assessment to sur-tax may be made within the time allowed for the making of an assessment or an additional first assessment to income tax in corresponding circumstances and accordingly section 186 (2), and section 4 (2) of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, shall have effect as if any reference therein to income tax or to an assessment or an additional first assessment to income tax included a reference to sur-tax or to an assessment or an additional assessment to sur-tax.”

(5) (a) Section 498 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “ten” for “six”.

(b) In relation to a claim for repayment of income tax for any of the years 1961-62 to 1966-67, section 41 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, shall apply as if “ten” were substituted for “six”.