Finance Act, 1993

Amendment of section 19 (tax due and payable) of Principal Act.

92.—Section 19 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following proviso to paragraph (a) of subsection (3):

“Provided that—

(a) where the taxable period is the period ending on the 31st day of December, the amount of tax payable for such period shall be reduced by the amount paid, if any, in accordance with subsection (6) (a) where that amount was due during that taxable period;

(b) the Revenue Commissioners shall refund the amount of the excess where—

(i) the taxable period is the period ending on the 31st day of December, and

(ii) the amount paid in accordance with subsection (6) (a) and which was due during that taxable period exceeds the amount of tax which would be so payable before such reduction.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4) (inserted by the Act of 1992):

“(4) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (3), where—

(i) a person makes an intra-Community acquisition of a new means of transport, other than a vessel or aircraft, in respect of which he is not entitled to a deduction under section 12, then—

(I) the tax shall be payable at the time of payment of vehicle registration tax or, if no vehicle registration tax is payable, at the time of registration of the vehicle,

(II) the person shall complete such form as may be provided by the Revenue Commissioners for the purpose of this subsection, and

(III) the provisions relating to recovery and collection of vehicle registration tax shall apply, with such exceptions and modifications (if any) as may be specified in regulations, to tax referred to in this subparagraph as if it were vehicle registration tax,

and

(ii) a person makes an intra-Community acquisition of a new means of transport which is a vessel or aircraft, in respect of which he is not entitled to a deduction under section 12, then—

(I) the tax shall be payable at a time and in a manner to be determined by regulations, and

(II) the provisions relating to the recovery and collection of a duty of customs shall apply, with such exceptions and modifications (if any) as may be specified in regulations, to tax referred to in this subparagraph as if it were a duty of customs.

(b) In this subsection—

‘registration of the vehicle’ means the registration of the vehicle in accordance with section 131 of the Finance Act, 1992 ;

‘vehicle registration tax’ means the tax referred to in section 132 of the Finance Act, 1992 .”,

and

(c) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (5):

“(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), where the provisions of section 8 (2B) (b) apply, the tax shall be payable at the time of payment of the duty of excise on the goods and the provisions relating to recovery and collection of that duty of excise shall apply, with such exceptions and modifications (if any) as may be specified in regulations, to tax referred to in this subsection as if it were that duty of excise.

(6) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), a taxable person shall on the 1st day of December, 1993, and on each 1st day of December thereafter pay to the Collector-General an amount (hereafter referred to in this subsection as the ‘advance payment’) equal to one-twelfth of the total net tax due by the taxable person for the relevant period:

Provided that as respects any such 1st day of December, this paragraph shall not apply so as to require an advance payment from a taxable person if the total net tax due by the taxable person for the relevant period does not exceed £120,000 (hereafter referred to in this subsection as the ‘threshold’).

(b) Where a taxable person is required by the provisions of paragraph (a) to pay an advance payment to the Collector-General by the due date in any year and fails to pay the advance payment by that date, he shall be liable to an additional amount (hereafter referred to in this subsection as the ‘surcharge’) calculated in accordance with paragraph (d):

Provided that no surcharge shall be payable under this paragraph in respect of a failure to pay the advance payment by the due date where, prior to that date, the taxable person by whom the advance payment is payable enters into an arrangement, by agreement with the Collector-General, which guarantees payment of the advance payment by the immediately following 21st day of December and the taxable person pays the advance payment by that 21st day of December.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b), where a taxable person has complied with the provisions of paragraph (a) as respects any advance payment due by the due date in any year, he shall nevertheless be liable to the surcharge, calculated in accordance with paragraph (d), as if he had not paid the advance payment, if he has failed to pay to the Collector-General—

(i) any amount of tax payable by him,

(ii) any amount payable by him pursuant to Chapter IV of Part V of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and the regulations made thereunder, or

(iii) any amount of employment contributions payable by him under the Social Welfare Acts,

where the date for payment of such amount fell on or before the 21st day of December immediately following the due date, unless any such amount referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) is the subject of an agreed payment arrangement with the Collector-General and the terms of that arrangement have been complied with by the taxable person as of the 21st day of December following the due date:

Provided that where the only amount payable referred to in—

(I) subparagraph (i) is consequent to an assessment under section 23, or

(II) subparagraph (ii) or (iii) is consequent to an estimate under section 8 of the Finance Act, 1968 ,

determined after the 21st day of December immediately following the due date, no surcharge shall be payable under this paragraph where the amount payable referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) is less than 10 per cent. of the advance payment due at that due date, or where the Revenue Commissioners consider that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the adjustment arose from an accidental or genuine misunderstanding or error and should be disregarded for the purposes of the application of the provisions relating to the advance payment and to the application of the surcharge.

(d) The surcharge referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) shall be calculated at the rate of 0.25 per cent. per day on the amount of the advance payment with effect from and including the due date until the day immediately preceding the day which is—

(i) the day on which the advance payment is paid,

(ii) the day on which the Collector-General receives a return for the taxable period during which the advance payment is due together with the tax, if any, payable for that period, or

(iii) the 20th day of January immediately following the date on which the advance payment is due,

whichever is the earliest:

Provided that the provisions of subparagraph (i) or (ii) shall only apply where the provisions of paragraph (c) do not apply.

(e) The Revenue Commissioners may, where they consider that an advance payment is payable by a taxable person and where they consider it appropriate to do so, estimate the amount of the advance payment and serve notice on him of the amount so estimated, and the Commissioners may, where they consider it appropriate to do so, vary the amount originally estimated.

(f) All the provisions of this Act shall apply to an estimate under paragraph (e) as if it were the advance payment and, where at any time after the service of the notice the taxable person declares the actual advance payment, the declared amount shall supersede the estimated amount for the purposes of the application of the provisions of this Act.

(g) The provisions of this Act in relation to the recovery of tax shall apply to the advance payment and the surcharge as if they were tax.

(h) (i) The Minister may, as respects any due date, by order—

(I) increase the threshold to be applied for the purposes of this subsection to that due date, or

(II) increase, reduce or revoke an increase in the threshold resulting from any previous order under this subparagraph, including an order relating to this clause:

Provided that where the threshold is so reduced, it shall not be reduced below £120,000.

(ii) An order under subparagraph (i) shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next twenty-one sitting days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(i) Following payment of the advance payment, any subsequent increase of a taxable person's total net tax, whether by way of assessment or otherwise, for the relevant period shall be disregarded for the purposes of the application of the provisions relating to the advance payment and to the application of the surcharge where—

(i) the effect of such increase is to increase the amount of the advance payment by less than 10 percent., or

(ii) the Revenue Commissioners consider that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the adjustment arose from an accidental or genuine misunderstanding or error and should be disregarded for the purposes of the application of the provisions relating to the advance payment and to the application of the surcharge.

(j) For the purposes of this subsection and subject to the direction and control of the Revenue Commissioners, any power, function or duty conferred or imposed on them may be exercised or performed on their behalf by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners.

(k) In this subsection—

‘due date’ means the date on which, in accordance with paragraph (a), the advance payment is due;

‘relevant period’ means, as respects a taxable person in relation to the 1st day of December in any year, the period ending on the 30th day of June in that year and commencing on the 1st day of July in the immediately preceding year:

Provided that where a person became a taxable person in that period, the relevant period shall be deemed to commence on the date on which the person first became a taxable person;

‘total net tax’ means the total tax payable by the taxable person on supplies, importations and intra-Community acquisitions less the amount which may be deducted by him in accordance with section 12.”.