Chartered Accountants will be aware that the new Mandatory Disclosure rules for certain tax avoidance arrangements introduced in Finance Act 2010 rely on regulations for their operation. Under the new section 817D, key components of the regime, such as the information to be provided, are to be defined by regulation. We understand from Revenue that work is at an advanced stage on draft regulations, explanatory guidelines and the forms to be used. These are to be released for consultation shortly. A public consultation period of approximately two months is then envisaged before the regulations will be finalised.

We feel that in the nature of things it is unlikely that the regulations can be finalised before the end of the Summer. The enabling provision for the Regulations is very specific in that they must be laid before Dáil Eireann – section 817Q refers. However, this does not preclude the Regulations being placed in the Dáil Library and becoming effective even when the Dáil is not sitting.