Finance Act 2020

Amendment of section 1001 of Principal Act (liability to tax, etc. of holder of fixed charge on book debts of company)

70. Section 1001 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following for subsection (3):

“(3) This section shall not apply unless the holder of the fixed charge has been notified in writing by the Revenue Commissioners that a company has failed to pay a relevant amount for which it is liable and that by virtue of this section the holder of the fixed charge—

(a) may become liable for payment of any relevant amount which the company subsequently fails to pay, and

(b) where subsection (3A) does not apply, has become liable for the payment of the relevant amount which the company has failed to pay.”,

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) Where—

(a) within 21 days of the creation of the fixed charge, or

(b) in a case in which the fixed charge has been transferred (whether before or after the coming into operation of section 72 of the Finance Act 2019 ) on or before whichever is the later of—

(i) 31 January 2020, and

(ii) the date that is 21 days from the date of transfer of the fixed charge,

the holder of the fixed charge furnishes in writing to the Revenue Commissioners the following details in relation to the charge:

(I) the name of the company on whose book debts the charge has been created;

(II) the registration number of the company as issued by the Companies Registration Office to that company;

(III) the tax registration number of the company as issued by the Revenue Commissioners to that company;

(IV) the date the fixed charge was created or transferred, as the case may be;

(V) the name and address of the holder of the fixed charge,

then this section shall not apply to any relevant amount which the company was liable to pay before the date on which the holder is notified in writing by the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with subsection (3).”,

and

(c) by substituting the following for subsection (4):

“(4) The amount or aggregate amount which a person shall be liable to pay in relation to a company in accordance with this section shall not exceed the amount or aggregate amount—

(a) which the person has, while the fixed charge on book debts in relation to the company is in existence, received directly or indirectly from that company in payment or in part payment of any debts due by the company to the person, or

(b) which the holder of the fixed charge received from the company after the date on which the holder is notified in writing by the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with subsection (3).”.