Finance Act 2003

Mandatory electronic filing and payment of tax.

164.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in Chapter 6 of Part 38 by inserting the following after section 917E—

Mandatory electronic filing and payment of tax.

917EA.—(1) In this section—

‘electronic means’ includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometric, photonic means of transmission of data and other forms of related technology by means of which data is transmitted;

‘repayment of tax’ includes any amount relating to tax which is to be paid or repaid by the Revenue Commissioners;

‘specified person’ means any person, group of persons or class of persons specified in regulations made under this section for the purposes of either or both paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3);

‘specified return’ means a return specified in regulations made under this section;

‘specified tax liabilities’ means liabilities to tax including interest on unpaid tax specified in regulations made under this section.

(2) Section 917D shall apply for the purposes of regulations made under this section in the same way as it applies for the purposes of this Chapter.

(3) The Revenue Commissioners may make regulations—

(a) requiring the delivery by specified persons of a specified return by electronic means where an order under section 917E has been made in respect of that return,

(b) requiring the payment by electronic means of specified tax liabilities by specified persons, and

(c) for the repayment of any tax specified in the regulations to be made by electronic means.

(4) Regulations made under this section shall include provision for the exclusion of a person from the requirements of regulations made under this section where the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the person could not reasonably be expected to have the capacity to make a specified return or to pay the specified tax liabilities by electronic means, and allowing a person, aggrieved by a failure to exclude such person, to appeal that failure to the Appeal Commissioners.

(5) Regulations made under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3), include provision for—

(a) the electronic means to be used to pay or repay tax,

(b) the conditions to be complied with in relation to the electronic payment or repayment of tax,

(c) determining the time when tax paid or repaid using electronic means is to be taken as having been paid or repaid,

(d) the manner of proving, for any purpose, the time of payment or repayment of any tax paid or repaid using electronic means, including provision for the application of any conclusive or other presumptions,

(e) notifying persons that they are specified persons, including the manner by which such notification may be made, and

(f) such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary.

(6) The Revenue Commissioners may nominate any of their officers to perform any acts and discharge any functions authorised by regulation made under this section to be performed or discharged by the Revenue Commissioners.

(7) Where a specified person—

(a) makes a return which is a specified return for the purposes of regulations made under this section, or

(b) makes a payment of tax which is specified tax liabilities for the purposes of regulations made under this section,

in a form other than that required by any such regulation, the specified person shall be liable to a penalty of €1,520 and, for the purposes of the recovery of a penalty under this subsection, section 1061 applies in the same manner as it applies for the purposes of the recovery of a penalty under any of the sections referred to in that section.

(8) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.”,

(b) in section 1084(1)(b) by inserting the following after subparagraph (i):

“(ia) where a person who is a specified person in relation to the delivery of a specified return for the purposes of any regulations made under section 917EA delivers a return of income on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period but does so in a form other than that required by any such regulations the person shall be deemed to have delivered an incorrect return on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period and subparagraph (ii) shall apply accordingly,”,

and

(c) in section 1085(1)(b) by inserting “(ia),” after “(i),”.

(2) This section has effect from such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.