PART I

Income Tax

1. —(1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for section 156 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 :

“(1) The Minister for Finance shall appoint persons to be Appeal Commissioners for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts (in this Act referred to as ‘Appeal Commissioners’) and the persons so appointed shall, by virtue of their appointment, and without other qualification, have authority to execute such powers and to perform such duties as are assigned to them by the said Acts.”

(2) Where—

(a) a person held office as a commissioner for the special purposes of the Income Tax Acts immediately before the passing of this Act, and

(b) his appointment as such commissioner was made by the Minister for Finance,

that appointment shall, as from such passing, be deemed to be an appointment of that person to be an Appeal Commissioner.

2. — Section 181 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection:

“(3) Anything required to be done by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to the making of assessments under Schedule C or Schedule D may be done by such officer of the Revenue Commissioners as they may authorise in that behalf.”

3. —(1) In sections 416 (5), 418 (6) and 422 (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , “Appeal Commissioner” is substituted for “Special Commissioner”, in section 164 (2) of that Act “An Appeal Commissioner” is substituted for “A Special Commissioner” and in section 429 (3) of that Act “an Appeal Commissioner” is substituted for “a Special Commissioner”.

(2) Each of the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , specified in Part I of the Schedule to this Act is hereby amended by the substitution therein of “Appeal Commissioners” for “Special Commissioners”.

(3) Each of the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , specified in Part II of the Schedule to this Act is hereby amended by the substitution therein of “Revenue Commissioners” for “Special Commissioners”.

(4) The enactment specified in column (2) of Part III of the Schedule to this Act is hereby amended as specified in column (3) of that Part.

(5) The enactment specified in column (2) of Part IV of the Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part.

(6) (a) Regulations (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the Regulations made by the Revenue Commissioners on the 13th day of September, 1929, are each hereby amended by the substitution of “Revenue Commissioners” for “Special Commissioners” and Regulation (10) thereof is hereby revoked.

(b) Regulation (9) of the Regulations made by the Revenue Commissioners on the 13th day of September, 1929, is hereby amended—

(i) by the substitution of “an inspector of taxes” for “the Special Commissioners”,

(ii) by the substitution of “requires” for “require”,

(iii) by the substitution of “him” for “them”,

(iv) by the substitution of “the Revenue Commissioners” for “they” where the word firstly occurs,

(v) by the substitution of “the inspector of taxes or the Revenue Commissioners, as the case may be”, for “they” where the word secondly occurs.

(c) The following Regulations:

(i) Regulation (4) of the Regulations made by the Revenue Commissioners on the 13th day of September, 1929,

(ii) Regulations 6, 8 and 12 (2) of the Income Tax (Purchased Life Annuities) Regulations, 1959,

(iii) Regulations 14 (2), (3) and (4), 15 (1), 16, 31 (5), 34 (6) and 44 (3) and (4) of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1960 ,

(iv) Regulation 6 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Surtax) Regulations, 1961,

are each hereby amended by the substitution of “Appeal Commissioners” for “Special Commissioners”.

(d) Regulations 14 (6), 31 (7) and 34 (7) of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1960 , are each hereby amended by the substitution of “Appeal Commissioner” for “Special Commissioner”.

4. —(1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for section 186 (2) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 :

“(2) (a) Subject to any provision allowing a longer period in any class of case, an assessment or an additional first assessment may be made at any time not later than ten years after the end of the year to which the assessment relates:

Provided that in a case in which any form of fraud or neglect has been committed by or on behalf of any person in connection with or in relation to income tax, an assessment or an additional first assessment may be made at any time for any year for which, by reason of the fraud or neglect, income tax would otherwise be lost to the Exchequer.

(b) (i) In a case in which emoluments to which this subparagraph applies are received in a year of assessment subsequent to that for which they are assessable, paragraph (a) shall have effect in the case of assessments or additional first assessments in respect of the emoluments subject to the substitution of a reference to the end of the year of assessment in which the emoluments were received for the reference to the end of the year to which the assessment relates.

(ii) The emoluments to which the foregoing subparagraph applies are emoluments as defined in section 110 (2), including any payments chargeable to tax by virtue of Chapter II of Part V and any sums which by virtue of Chapter III of Part V fall to be treated as perquisites of a person's office or employment, being emoluments, payments or sums other than those taken into account in an assessment to income tax for the year of assessment in which they are received; and for the purposes of this paragraph—

(I) any such payment shall, notwithstanding anything in section 114 (4), be treated as having been received at the time it was actually received, and

(II) any such sums which are not actually paid to that person shall be treated as having been received at the time when the relevant expenses were incurred or are treated for the purposes of the said Chapter III as having been incurred.

(c) An objection to the making of any assessment or additional first assessment on the ground that the time limited for the making thereof has expired shall only be made on appeal from the assessment.

(d) In this subsection ‘neglect’ means negligence or a failure to give any notice, to make any return, statement or declaration, or to produce or furnish any list, document or other information required by or under the Income Tax Acts:

Provided that a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if he did it within such further time, if any, as the Revenue Commissioners or officer concerned may have allowed; and where a person had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done, he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if he did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.”

(2) Where an assessment or an additional first assessment is proposed to be made by virtue of paragraph (a) or by virtue of paragraph (a) and (b) of the subsection substituted by subsection (1), it shall not be made—

(a) in case it is proposed to be made by virtue of the said paragraph (a), if it is an assessment relating to a year prior to the year 1961-62, or

(b) in case it is proposed to be made by virtue of the said paragraphs (a) and (b), if the time of receipt (within the meaning of the said paragraph (b)) of the emoluments, payments or sums was prior to the year 1961-62,

save in a case coming within the proviso to the said paragraph (a).

(3) Section 211 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (1) of “any year of assessment for which an assessment or an additional first assessment could have been made upon him immediately before his death, or could be made upon him if he were living,” for “the year of assessment in which such person dies or for any previous year”.

(b) by the addition to subsection (2) of the following paragraph:

“This subsection shall have effect notwithstanding section 186 (2).”

(4) The following subsection is hereby substituted for section 526 (6) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 :

“(6) An assessment or an additional assessment to sur-tax may be made within the time allowed for the making of an assessment or an additional first assessment to income tax in corresponding circumstances and accordingly section 186 (2), and section 4 (2) of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, shall have effect as if any reference therein to income tax or to an assessment or an additional first assessment to income tax included a reference to sur-tax or to an assessment or an additional assessment to sur-tax.”

(5) (a) Section 498 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “ten” for “six”.

(b) In relation to a claim for repayment of income tax for any of the years 1961-62 to 1966-67, section 41 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, shall apply as if “ten” were substituted for “six”.

5. —(1) Every person who is chargeable to income tax for any year of assessment and who, in relation to that year, has not been given a notice under section 169 or section 172 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and has not made a return of his total income, shall, not later than one year after the end of the year of assessment, give notice to the inspector of taxes that he is so chargeable.

(2) Schedule 15 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the insertion in column 3 thereof of “Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, section 5”.

6. —(1) sections 167 , 168 , 171 , 172 (3) and 179 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , are hereby repealed.

(2) Section 169 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “a notice given to him by an inspector” for “any general or particular notice given in pursuance of this Act”.

(3) Section 169 (4) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “to whom a notice has been given” for “upon whom a particular notice has been served”.

(4) Section 170 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “a notice given to him by an inspector” for “any general or particular notice”.

(5) Section 176 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “a notice given to him by an inspector” for “any general or particular notice”.

(6) Section 177 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “a notice given to him by an inspector” for “a general or particular notice under this Act”.

(7) Section 211 (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “to do so by a notice given to him by an inspector” for “by a particular notice so to do”.

7. —(1) Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended, with effect as from the commencement of that Act,—

(a) by the insertion in section 81 (4), after paragraph (e), of the following paragraph:

“(f) interest on borrowed money employed in the purchase, improvement or repair of the premises,” and

(b) by the insertion after section 89 of the following section:

“89A.—Where for any year of assessment a person—

(a) is (or would but for an insufficiency of profits or gains be) chargeable to tax under Case IV of Schedule D by virtue of section 81, and

(b) is assessed to tax under section 434 in respect of a payment of interest, being interest in respect of which a deduction would have fallen to be made, by reference to paragraph (f) of section 81 (4), in computing the profits or gains but for the application (by that subsection) of the provisions applicable to Case I of Schedule D under which a deduction in respect of interest paid or payable wholly and exclusively for the purpose of a trade may not be made in computing the profits or gains of the trade,

the amount on which tax is paid under that assessment shall be treated as if it were such a loss as is mentioned in section 310 and the provisions of that section shall apply accordingly.”

(2) Where, in respect of interest for any of the years 1963-64 to 1966-67, any relief from tax would be allowable by virtue of subsection (1) if it were interest for the year 1967-68, the like relief shall be granted in respect thereof as if provisions to the same effect as those inserted in Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , by subsection (1) had been included in Part IX of the Finance Act, 1963 .

8. —Schedule 15 to the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the deletion of the reference to section 526 (3) of that Act in column 1 and the insertion of a reference to the said section 526 (3) in column 3.

9. —(1) In section 53 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , the reference in paragraph (f) of Case III to income arising from possessions outside the State shall be deemed not to include a reference to any pension or similar benefit to which this section applies.

(2) This section applies to any pension or similar benefit which—

(a) is given in respect of past services in an office or employment or is payable under provisions of the law of the country in which it arises which correspond to provisions of the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1967, the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1967, or the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1967, and

(b) if it were received by a person who, for the purposes of tax of the country in which it arises, is resident in that country and is not resident elsewhere, would not fall to be regarded as income for those purposes.

In this paragraph “tax” means, in relation to any country, a tax which is chargeable and payable under the law of that country and which corresponds to income tax in the State.

(3) This section shall have effect in relation to income tax for the year 1967-68 or for any subsequent year of assessment.