Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Act 2020

Interest on overdue tax - supplementary provision

6. The Act of 1997 is amended by inserting the following section after section 1080:

“Interest on overdue tax - supplementary provision

1080A. (1) In this section—

‘the Acts’ means—

(a) Parts 18C and 18D,

(b) the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(c) the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(d) the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(e) the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(f) the Customs Act 2015 and the enactments amending or extending that Act,

(g) the Capital Gains Tax Acts,

(h) the Tax Acts,

(i) the statutes relating to the duties of excise and to the management of those duties, and

(j) any instruments made under any of the enactments referred to in paragraphs (a) to (i);

‘declared liabilities’ means any tax included in a return, including an amended return, which a person is required to make under the Acts;

‘period of delay’, in relation to any declared liabilities, means the period during which those declared liabilities remain unpaid;

‘tax’ means any tax, duty, levy or charge under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

(2) This subsection shall apply where—

(a) an agreement is entered into between a person and the Collector-General in relation to the payment by the person of declared liabilities under section 849, and

(b) the agreement was entered into, or the person requested that the Collector-General enter into the agreement, on or before 30 September 2020.

(3) Subject to subsection (6), where subsection (2) applies, the following provisions shall not apply to the declared liabilities from the date on which the interest determined in accordance with subsection (5) applies to the declared liabilities in accordance with subsection (4):

(a) section 128B(9)(b);

(b) section 172K(6)(b);

(c) section 240(3)(a);

(d) section 258(9)(b);

(e) section 529H(1);

(f) section 530Q;

(g) section 531(9);

(h) section 531AJ;

(i) section 730G(7)(b);

(j) section 739F(7)(b);

(k) section 787S(7)(b);

(l) section 790AA(13)(b);

(m) section 991;

(n) section 1080(2);

(o) paragraph 21(1) of Part 4 of Schedule 2;

(p) section 159D of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 ;

(q) section 103 (2)(a)(ii) of the Finance Act 2001 ;

(r) section 51 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 ;

(s) section 114 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 ;

(t) section 114A of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 ;

(u) section 149 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 ;

(v) section 28 (13) of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 .

(4) Where subsection (2) applies, the declared liabilities shall carry interest from the later of—

(a) 1 August 2020, and

(b) the date on which the agreement referred to in subsection (2) is entered into,

and the amount of that interest shall be determined in accordance with subsection (5).

(5) The interest to be carried by the declared liabilities referred to in subsection (4) shall be the amount determined by the formula—

DL x D x P

where—

DL is the amount of the declared liabilities which remains unpaid,

D is the number of days (including part of a day) forming the period of delay, and

P is 0.0082 per cent.

(6) Where subsection (2) applies and the person concerned has not complied with an obligation under the agreement referred to in that subsection, a provision referred to in subsection (3) shall apply—

(a) from the date on which the event resulting in failure to comply with the obligation occurred, and

(b) in respect of that part, if any, of the declared liabilities to which the provision would apply, but for subsection (3).

(7) The interest payable under this section—

(a) shall be payable without deduction of income tax and shall not be allowed as a deduction for any of the purposes of the Acts, and

(b) shall be deemed to be a debt due to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund and shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners.

(8) Subject to subsection (9)—

(a) every enactment relating to the recovery of tax,

(b) every rule of court so relating,

(c) section 81 of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 , and

(d) sections 440 and 621 of the Companies Act 2014 ,

shall apply to the recovery of any amount of interest payable on that tax as if that amount of interest were a part of that tax.

(9) In proceedings instituted by virtue of subsection (8)—

(a) a certificate signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners certifying that a stated amount of interest is due and payable by the person against whom the proceedings were instituted shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that that amount is so due and payable, and

(b) a certificate so certifying and purporting to be signed as specified in this subsection may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed until the contrary is proved to have been signed by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners.

(10) This section shall not apply to declared liabilities—

(a) where proceedings have been taken in respect of all or part of the declared liabilities by the Collector-General under section 960I, but judgment has not yet been given in those proceedings,

(b) where the sheriff or county registrar has commenced, but not yet completed, seizing goods, animals or other chattels on foot of a certificate issued under section 960L relating to the declared liabilities,

(c) where the Collector-General has made an application or presented a petition in respect of the declared liabilities under section 960M, or

(d) where proceedings taken under section 960I or 960M have been completed and the declared liabilities are subject to a court order determining how they are to be paid.”.