Revenue Note for Guidance

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Revenue Note for Guidance

CHAPTER 4

Payment notices and scheme participants

Overview

This chapter introduces a new payment notices regime for certain types of tax avoidance arrangements. The main features of the regime can be summarised as follows:

  • Where a person is found to have engaged in unsuccessful tax avoidance by the Appeal Commissioners, Revenue may issue a payment notice demanding immediate payment of the tax due notwithstanding that the taxpayer has further rights of appeal.
  • Where a person entered into a tax avoidance arrangement of a similar type to one which the Appeal Commissioners already found to be unsuccessful, Revenue may issue a payment notice demanding immediate payment of the tax due notwithstanding that the taxpayer has further rights of appeal.

817S Payment Notices

Summary

This section provides that Revenue may issue a payment notice to a taxpayer who engaged in tax avoidance and who has been unsuccessful at appeal.

Details

(1) A number of terms are defined, for the purposes of this Chapter. Many of these definitions are linked to other parts of the Acts.

(2) This section applies to a person who entered into, after 23 October 2014:

  • a tax avoidance transaction, within the meaning of section 811C,
  • a disclosable transaction, within the meaning of Chapter 3 of this Part, or
  • a transaction to which a specific anti-avoidance provision, within the meaning of Schedule 33, applies

and a Revenue officer made or amended an assessment the effect of which was to withdraw a tax advantage, within the meaning of section 811C or Chapter 3 as appropriate.

(3) & (5) Where the Appeal Commissioners have heard an appeal on that assessment or amended assessment and have determined the appeal in favour of Revenue, then Revenue may send a payment notice to the person requiring immediate payment of the amount stated in the payment notice, notwithstanding that the person has a further right of appeal.

(4) The amount stated in the payment notice will be the lower of:

  • The amount of tax in the assessment that is due as a result of the withdrawal or denial of the tax advantage, and
  • The tax that would be due and payable if the assessment, as amended for the Appeal Commissioners determination, became final and conclusive.

(6)(a) Where an amount of tax that is paid on foot of a payment notice is subsequently found to be due to the taxpayer, for example where the High Court or Supreme Court determine that a lower amount of tax was actually due in relation to the withdrawal or denial of the tax advantage, then Revenue must repay that amount with interest. To ensure that interest is due from the date the amount was paid to Revenue, the taxpayer is deemed to have made a valid claim for the repayment 93 days before the payment was made.

(b) Any time limits for repayments in the Acts are specifically dis-applied for the purposes of any repayments due under this section.

(7) For the purposes of collection of taxes by the Collector General, a payment notice is treated as if it was a demand made by the Collector General.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019