Finance Act 2006
|
Amendment of section 531 (payments to subcontractors in certain industries) of Principal Act. |
44.— (1) Section 531 of the Principal Act is amended— | |
(a) by inserting the following after subsection (5): | ||
“(5A) A claim to repayment under regulations made in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (5) shall not be allowed at a time at which a claim to repayment in respect of the chargeable period (within the meaning of section 321), within which the period for which the claim to repayment relates falls, would not be allowed under section 865(4).”, | ||
(b) in subsection (11)— | ||
(i) in paragraph (a)— | ||
(I) by substituting “Subject to subsection (11A), the Revenue Commissioners shall” for “The Revenue Commissioners shall”, and | ||
(II) by substituting the following for subparagraph (v): | ||
“(v) that there is good reason to expect that that person, partnership or company will comply with the obligations referred to in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) in relation to periods ending after the date of termination of the qualifying period, and”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in paragraph (b) by substituting “A person referred to in paragraph (a) in respect of whom the Revenue Commissioners are not satisfied in relation to the matters specified in subparagraph (i) to (iv) and (vi) of that paragraph” for “A person in respect of whom the Revenue Commissioners are not satisfied in relation to the matters specified in subparagraphs (i) to (iv) and (vi) of paragraph (a)”, | ||
(c) by inserting the following after subsection (11): | ||
“(11A) Where a person applies for a certificate of authorisation in accordance with subsection (11) (in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned person’) and relevant operations (being construction operations, forestry operations or meat processing operations, as the case may be) similar to those being carried out or to be carried out by that person were previously, or are being, carried out by another person (in this subsection referred to as the ‘second-mentioned person’), and the second-mentioned person— | ||
(a) is a company connected (within the meaning of section 10 as it applies for the purposes of the Tax Acts) with the first-mentioned person or would have been such a company but for the fact that the company has been wound up or dissolved without being wound up, | ||
(b) is a company and the first-mentioned person is a partnership in which— | ||
(I) a partner is or was able, or | ||
(II) where more than one partner is a shareholder, those partners together are or were able, | ||
directly or indirectly, whether with or without a connected person or connected persons (within the meaning of section 10 as it applies for the purposes of the Tax Acts), to control more than 15 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the company, or | ||
(c) the second-mentioned person is a partnership and the first-mentioned person is a company in which— | ||
(I) a partner is or was able, or | ||
(II) where more than one partner is a shareholder, those partners together are or were able, | ||
directly or indirectly, whether with or without a connected person or connected persons (within the meaning of section 10 as it applies for the purposes of the Tax Acts), to control more than 15 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the company, | ||
then, a certificate of authorisation shall not be issued under subsection (11) to the first-mentioned person unless the second-mentioned person is in compliance with the obligations imposed on that person by the Tax Acts, the Capital Gains Tax Acts and the Value-Added Tax Act 1972 in relation to the matters specified in paragraphs (a)(iii) and (iv) of subsection (11).”, | ||
(d) in subsection (12), by substituting the following for paragraph (d): | ||
“(d) Subject to the following provisions of this subsection and to subsection (13), where, on the making to them by a principal of an application under paragraph (a), (b) or (c), the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that a relevant payments card in respect of the subcontractor concerned ought to be issued, they shall issue such a card to the principal who, on receiving the card, shall, during the year of assessment (or the unexpired portion of the year of assessment) to which the relevant payments card relates, be entitled, subject to any limit imposed on the card in accordance with paragraph (e), to make payment, without deduction of tax, to the subcontractor named on the card but, in the case of an application to which paragraph (b) applies, or an application to which paragraph (c) applies where the relevant payments card mentioned in subparagraph (i) of that paragraph was issued following an application made under and in accordance with paragraph (b), any such payments shall be made by the principal directly to the nominated bank account. | ||
(e) Where it appears requisite to them to do so for the protection of the revenue, the Revenue Commissioners may, by specifying the amount thereof on a relevant payments card, impose a limit (in this section referred to as the ‘specified limit’) on the amount of the payments that a principal may make, without deduction of tax, to the subcontractor named on the card. | ||
(f) Where a specified limit has been applied by them for a year of assessment in relation to a relevant payments card by virtue of paragraph (e), the Revenue Commissioners, at the request of the subcontractor named on the card, shall, as may be appropriate, amend the limit by reducing or, if they consider it appropriate to do so in the circumstances, increasing or removing it. | ||
(g) Where, in accordance with paragraph (f), the Revenue Commissioners amend a specified limit applied to a relevant payments card, they shall issue to the principal, and the principal shall thereafter use, a new relevant payments card. | ||
(h) Where a specified limit is applied to a relevant payments card, the subcontractor named on the card shall, at the same time as the card is issued to the principal, be notified in writing by the Revenue Commissioners of the application of the limit and the amount, or revised amount, thereof, as the case may be. | ||
(i) Where, in a year of assessment, the aggregate of the amount of the payments made by a principal to a subcontractor exceeds the specified limit, if any, imposed on the relevant payments card, or the amended relevant payments card, as the case may be, issued in respect of that subcontractor, the principal shall deduct from such excess, and pay to the Collector-General, tax in accordance with subsection (1).”, | ||
(e) by inserting the following after subsection (17A): | ||
“(17B) Any person who is aggrieved by the imposition by the Revenue Commissioners, under subsection (12), of a specified limit in relation to a relevant payments card, or an amended relevant payments card, as the case may be, may, by notice in writing to that effect given to the Revenue Commissioners within 30 days from the date of issue of the relevant payments card concerned, appeal against the imposition of such a limit to the Appeal Commissioners, but, pending the decision of the Appeal Commissioners in the matter, the limit shall remain in place.”, | ||
(f) in subsection (18) by substituting “subsection (17), (17A) or (17B)” for “subsection (17) or subsection (17A)”, | ||
(g) in subsection (19) by substituting “subsection (17) or (17B)” for “subsection (17)”, and | ||
(h) in subsection (20) by substituting “subsection (17), (17A) or (17B)” for “subsection (17) or subsection (17A)”. | ||
(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) applies as on and from the passing of this Act. | ||
(b) Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) apply as respects applications, for certificates of authorisation under section 531(11) of the Principal Act, made on or after 2 February 2006. | ||
(c) Paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) of subsection (1) apply as respects applications for relevant payments cards, under section 531(12) of the Principal Act, made on or after 2 February 2006. |