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39 1997

TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT, 1997

PART 39

Assessments

CHAPTER 1

Income tax and corporation tax

Making of assessments under Schedules C, D, E and F.

[ITA67 s88(1) and s181; F(MP) A68 s2, s3(3) and Sch PtII; CTA76 s140(1) and Sch2 PtI par5]

918. —(1) Assessments under Schedules D, E and F, except—

(a) such assessments as the Revenue Commissioners are empowered to make under Chapter 2 of Part 4 ,

(b) assessments to which section 853 applies, and

(c) such assessments as officers or persons appointed by the Revenue Commissioners are empowered to make under section 854 ,

shall be made by the inspectors or such other officers as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf.

(2) The inspector shall give due notice to each person assessed of every such assessment made by him or her, the amount of the assessment and the time allowed for giving notice of appeal against the assessment.

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

(4) Where for any year of assessment profits or gains chargeable to tax under Case IV of Schedule D by virtue of section 98 , 99 or 100 arise to any person from 2 or more sources, the several amounts of profits or gains so chargeable may be assessed in one assessment.

Assessments to corporation tax.

[CTA76 s7 and s144; DCITPA96 s6; CABA96 s24(2)]

919. —(1) Assessments to corporation tax shall be made by an inspector.

(2) (a) Where a company on whose profits the tax is to be assessed is resident in the State, the tax shall be assessed on the company.

(b) Where a company on whose profits the tax is to be assessed is not resident in the State, the tax shall be assessed on the company in the name of any agent, manager, factor or other representative of the company.

(3) The inspector shall give notice to the company assessed or, in the case of a company not resident in the State, to the agent, manager, factor or other representative of the company assessed of every assessment made by the inspector.

(4) (a) In this section, “information” includes information received from a member of the Garda Síochána.

(b) Where—

(i) a company makes default in the delivery of a statement in respect of corporation tax, or

(ii) the inspector is not satisfied with a statement which has been delivered, or has received information as to its insufficiency,

the inspector shall make an assessment on the company concerned in such sum as according to the best of the inspector's judgment ought to be charged on that company.

(5) (a) 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 enactments relating to corporation tax; but a company shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if the company did it within such further time, if any, as the Revenue Commissioners or officer concerned may have allowed and, where a company had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done, the company shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if the company did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.

(b) Where an inspector discovers that—

(i) any profits which ought to have been assessed to corporation tax have not been assessed,

(ii) an assessment to corporation tax is or has become insufficient, or

(iii) any relief which has been given is or has become excessive,

the inspector shall make an assessment in the amount or the further amount which ought in the inspector's opinion to be charged.

(c) Subject to paragraph (d) and any other provision allowing a longer period in any class of case, no assessment to corporation tax shall be made more than 10 years after the end of the accounting period to which it relates.

(d) In a case in which any form of fraud or neglect has been committed by or on behalf of any company in connection with or in relation to corporation tax, an assessment may be made on that company at any time for any accounting period for which by reason of the fraud or neglect corporation tax would otherwise be lost to the Exchequer.

(e) An objection to the making of any assessment on the ground that the time limited for the making of the assessment has expired shall be made only on appeal against the assessment.

(6) An assessment on a company's profits for an accounting period which falls after the commencement of the winding up of the company shall not be invalid because made before the end of the accounting period.

Granting of allowances and reliefs.

[ITA67 s182]

920. —(1) Notwithstanding anything in the Income Tax Acts, the inspector or such other officer as the Revenue Commissioners shall appoint in that behalf may at any time grant, in relation to any assessment in respect of income tax chargeable for any year of assessment, any allowance, deduction or relief authorised by the Income Tax Acts.

(2) Whenever such inspector or other officer so grants any such allowance, deduction or relief in relation to an assessment, such assessment shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.

Aggregation of assessments.

[ITA67 s183(1) to (5) (a) and (7); FA69 s65(1) and Sch5 PtI; CTA76 s140(1) and Sch2 PtI par6; FA80 s19 and Sch1 PtIII par1; FA97 s146(1) and Sch9 PtI par1(11)]

921. —(1) In this section, “personal reliefs” means relief under any of the provisions specified in the Table to section 458 .

(2) Where 2 or more assessments to income tax are to be made on a person under Schedule D, E or F or under 2 or more of those Schedules, the tax in the assessments may be stated in one sum, and the notice of assessment may be stated correspondingly.

(3) A notice of appeal in a case in which subsection (2) applies shall, to be valid, indicate each assessment appealed against.

(4) Pending the determination of an appeal against any one or more assessments referred to in subsection (2), an amount of tax (being a portion of the one sum referred to in that subsection) shall be payable on the due date or dates and shall be the amount which results when the appropriate personal reliefs are deducted from the assessments not under appeal or allowed from the tax charged in those assessments, as may be appropriate.

(5) The tax stated in one sum under subsection (2) or the amount payable under subsection (4) shall for the purposes of sections 1080 and 1081 be deemed to be tax charged by an assessment to income tax.

(6) Where for any of the purposes of the Income Tax Acts other than subsection (4) it becomes necessary to determine what amount of the tax charged is applicable to any one of 2 or more assessments referred to in subsection (2), a certificate from the inspector indicating the manner in which the deductions, allowances or reliefs were allocated and stating the separate amounts of tax, if any, and the instalments of tax applicable to any one or more assessments or to each assessment shall be sufficient evidence of the charge to tax in and by each such assessment.

Assessment in absence of return.

[ITA67 s184; FA69 s33(1) and Sch4 PtI; CTA76 s140(1) and Sch2 PtI par7; DCITPA96 s5; CABA96 s24(1)]

922. —(1) In this section, “information” includes information received from a member of the Garda Síochána.

(2) Where the inspector does not receive a statement from a person liable to be charged to income tax, the inspector shall to the best of his or her information and judgment, but subject to section 997 , make an assessment on that person of the amount at which that person ought to be charged under Schedule E.

(3) Where—

(a) a person makes default in the delivery of a statement in respect of any income tax under Schedule D or F, or

(b) the inspector is not satisfied with a statement which has been delivered, or has received any information as to its insufficiency,

the inspector shall make an assessment on the person concerned in such sum as according to the best of the inspector's judgment ought to be charged on that person.

Function of certain assessors.

[ITA67 s185]

923. —(1) (a) A person appointed under section 855 to be an assessor and a person (in this section also referred to as an “assessor”) appointed under section 854 shall on request be furnished free of charge by any officer in the relevant department or office or by any agent by whom the same are payable with true accounts of any salaries, fees, wages, perquisites, profits, pensions or stipends chargeable under Schedule E.

(b) Every such assessor shall have access to all documents in his or her department or office which concern any such payments.

(c) Every such assessor may, if he or she is dissatisfied with any account referred to in paragraph (a) or in any case in which it may be necessary, require from any person to be charged an account of any salary, fees, wages, perquisites, profits, pensions or stipend, within the like period as is limited for the delivery of statements of profits or gains under the Income Tax Acts, and under the like penalty as is provided in the case of failure to deliver such statements.

(2) The assessors shall assess the persons who hold offices, or are entitled to pensions or stipends, in accordance with the annual amount thereof from the documents, accounts and papers in their respective departments.

(3) Every assessment shall set out—

(a) the full and just annual emoluments of every office and employment of profit, and the full annual amount of every pension or stipend,

(b) the names of the persons entitled to those emoluments, pensions or stipends, and

(c) the tax payable in each case.

(4) An assessor who fails to comply with this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £100 and not less than £20.

Additional assessments.

[ITA67 s186; F(MP) A68 s4(1); FA69 s65(1) and Sch5 PtI; CTA76 s140(1) and Sch2 PtI par8; FA96 s132(2) and Sch5 PtII]

924. —(1) (a) Where the inspector discovers that—

(i) any properties or profits chargeable to income tax have been omitted from the first assessments,

(ii) a person chargeable—

(I) has not delivered any statement,

(II) has not delivered a full and proper statement,

(III) has not been assessed to income tax, or

(IV) has been undercharged in the first assessments, or

(iii) a person chargeable has been allowed, or has obtained from and in the first assessments, any allowance, deduction, exemption, abatement or relief not authorised by the Income Tax Acts,

then, where the tax is chargeable under Schedule D, E or F, the inspector shall make an additional first assessment.

(b) Any additional first assessment made by the inspector in accordance with paragraph (a) shall be subject to appeal and other proceedings as in the case of a first assessment.

(2) (a) 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; but a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if such person 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, such person shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if such person did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.

(b) Subject to paragraph (c) and any other 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 10 years after the end of the year to which the assessment relates.

(c) 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.

(d) (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 (b) shall apply 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 subparagraph (i) applies are emoluments within the meaning of section 112 (2), including any payments chargeable to tax by virtue of section 123 and any sums which by virtue of Chapter 3 of Part 5 are 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 123 (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 Chapter 3 of Part 5 as having been incurred.

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

(3) Any assessments not made at the time when the first assessments are made shall as soon as they are made be added to the first assessments by means of separate forms of assessment.

Special rules relating to assessments under Schedule E.

[ITA67 Sch2 rule1(1) and (2)]

925. —(1) Where at any time, either during the year of assessment or in respect of that year, a person becomes entitled to any additional salary, fees or emoluments over and above the amount for which an assessment to income tax has been made on that person, or for which at the commencement of that year that person was liable to be charged to income tax, an additional assessment shall, as often as the case may require, be made on that person in respect of any such additional salary, fees or emoluments, so that he or she may be charged in respect of the full amount of his or her salary, fees or emoluments for that year.

(2) Where any person proves to the satisfaction of the inspector that the amount for which an assessment to income tax has been made in respect of that person's salary, fees or emoluments for any year of assessment exceeds the amount of the salary, fees or emoluments for that year, the assessment shall be adjusted and any amount overpaid by means of tax shall be repaid.

Estimation of certain amounts.

[ITA67 s528; FA74 s11 and Sch1 PtII]

926. —(1) Where—

(a) the total income of any individual from all sources, whether chargeable with income tax by deduction or otherwise, includes income from any source or sources which is to be computed on the basis of the actual amounts receivable in the year of assessment or where any deductions allowable on account of any annual sums paid out of the property or profits of an individual are to be allowed as deductions in respect of the year in which they are payable, and

(b) an assessment to income tax is being made before the end of the year of assessment to which such assessment to tax relates,

the inspector in making the assessment shall, in computing the total amount of income assessable to income tax, estimate the amount of income from each such source or the amount of any such allowable deductions and, in making any such estimate, the inspector shall have due regard to any corresponding amount of income or allowable deductions in the year preceding the year of assessment and shall, in computing the income tax payable, estimate the amount of tax to be credited under sections 59 and 997 .

(2) Where—

(a) an estimate has been made under subsection (1),

(b) notice of an appeal against the assessment to income tax has not been given, and

(c) the person assessed gives to the inspector within a period of one year from the end of the year of assessment particulars of the correct amount of the income or deductions in respect of which the estimate was made,

the inspector shall adjust the assessment by reference to the difference between the correct amount of income assessable to income tax and the amount of the assessment, and any amount of income tax overpaid shall be repaid.

Rectification of excessive set-off, etc. of tax credit.

[CTA76 s161]

927. —(1) Where an inspector discovers that any set-off or payment of tax credit ought not to have been made or is or has become excessive, the inspector may make any such assessments as may in his or her judgment be required for recovering any tax that ought to have been paid or any payment of tax credit that ought not to have been made and generally for securing that the resulting liabilities to tax of the persons concerned are what they would have been if only such set-offs or payments had been made as ought to have been made.

(2) This Part, Part 40 and Part 42 shall apply to any assessment under this section for recovering a payment of tax credit as if it were an assessment to income tax for the year of assessment, or, in the case of a company, corporation tax for the accounting period, in respect of which the payment was claimed and as if that payment represented a loss of tax to the Exchequer, and any sum charged by any such assessment shall, subject to any appeal against the assessment, be due within 14 days after the issue of the notice of assessment.

Transmission to Collector-General of particulars of sums to be collected.

[ITA67 s187(1); FA74 s86 and Sch2 PtI; CTA76 s147(1) and (2); FA86 s113(5); FA96 s132(2) and Sch5 PtII]

928. —(1) After assessments to income tax and corporation tax have been made, the inspectors shall transmit particulars of the sums to be collected to the Collector-General for collection.

(2) The entering by an inspector or other authorised officer of details of an assessment to income tax or corporation tax and of the tax charged in such an assessment in an electronic, photographic or other record from which the Collector-General may extract such details by electronic, photographic or other process shall constitute transmission of such details by the inspector or other authorised officer to the Collector-General.

(3) Subsection (2) shall apply for the purposes of value-added tax as it applies for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax with the substitution of “value-added tax” for “income tax or corporation tax”.