Finance Act 2003

Payments from Central Fund to certain persons.

166.—(1) In this section—

“Accounting Officer” means the Accounting Officer of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners;

“CPI number” means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office;

“relevant period” means the period commencing on the first day of the year of assessment next following the year of assessment in which the tax repaid was paid and concluding on the date of the issue of the repayment of the tax;

“specified judgement” means the decision of the High Court in the case of O'Coindealbhain (Inspector of Taxes) v Breda O'Carroll reported in the Irish Tax Reports, Volume IV, at page 221;

“specified payment”, in relation to a repayment of tax made for a year of assessment, means a payment made in respect of the loss of purchasing power in respect of that repayment for the relevant period.

(2) In this section the CPI number applicable to the commencement of a relevant period shall be the CPI number relating to the immediately preceding survey date, and the CPI number applicable to the conclusion of the relevant period shall be the CPI number relating to the immediately succeeding survey date.

(3) This section shall apply for the purpose of permitting the Revenue Commissioners to make a specified payment in respect of the repayment of tax in a particular case to which subsection (4) applies where, at the discretion of the Accounting Officer, that Officer considers it appropriate that such payment should be made and approves the making of that payment.

(4) Subject to the approval of the Accounting Officer as mentioned in subsection (3), a specified payment may be made by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of a repayment of income tax made by reference to the specified judgement.

(5) Where a specified payment is made under this section—

(a) the amount of the specified payment shall be computed solely by reference to the amount of the repayment concerned and to the movement in the CPI number for the relevant period,

(b) it shall be made without deduction of income tax, and

(c) it shall not be reckoned in computing total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(6) Where a specified payment is made by the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with this section—

(a) it shall be paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof, and

(b) the aggregate of all such payments made by virtue of this section shall not exceed €7,000,000.