887 Use of electronic data processing

Summary

This section provides that, if the Revenue Commissioners agree, records required for the purposes of certain taxation statutes may be generated, stored, maintained, transmitted, reproduced or communicated by any electronic, photographic or other process which meets the requirements of the Revenue Commissioners. A copy of any document which forms part of records so preserved is, subject to the rules of court, admissible in evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings to the same extent as the records themselves.

Details

(1) “the Acts” are the Tax Acts (the Income Tax Acts and the Corporation Tax Acts), the Capital Gains Tax Acts, the Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 and the enactments amending or extending that Act, the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 and the enactments amending or extending that Act and Part VI of the Finance Act 1983 (which deals with residential property tax). Also included are any instruments made under any of these enactments.

“record” is a record which a person is obliged by the Acts to keep, issue or produce for inspection, as well as any other written or printed material.

(2) Records may be generated, stored, maintained, transmitted, reproduced or communicated for tax purposes by electronic, photographic or similar process which meets certain conditions —

• that the process used provides a reasonable guarantee that the integrity of the record will not be interfered with from the time it is first generated as an electronic record,
• that the process allows the record to be displayed in an intelligible format or produced in a intelligible printed format,
• that access to any such display of the record or print out of the record be readily available, and
• that the process conforms to the information technology and procedural requirements set by Revenue.

The provision is made subject to Chapter 2 of Part 9 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 so as to ensure that for VAT purposes the provisions of this section do not overrule the specific VAT rules in that Chapter governing VAT invoices.

(3) The Revenue Commissioners are given authority to publish in Iris Oifigiúil the information technology and procedural requirements which must be complied with by any process used by a person to store tax records electronically.

(4) The Revenue Commissioners also have the power to vary any such requirements which they may publish.

(5) Furthermore, the Revenue are given authority, if needed, to seek details (including details as to the software used) from persons who are storing tax related records electronically. Anyone who fails to supply the details is liable to a penalty of €3,000.

(6) A person who uses a process which does not comply with the various requirements as set out in this note will be treated as if the person failed to comply with the obligations under general tax law to keep tax records. Any such person will be liable to the same penalties as the person would be liable to if the person had failed to comply with any obligation in relation to the keeping of records. Excluded from the possibility of being open to any such penalty are cases where a person may be keeping records electronically in a way which does not conform with this section but who at the same time maintains a full set of records in accordance with the person’s tax obligations in a physical form.

(7) In court proceedings records (within the meaning of the section) kept by electronic, etc means will be admissible in evidence in any such proceedings to the same extent as the actual records themselves, subject to any rules of court.

(8) The Revenue Commissioners can delegate their powers under the section to nominated officers.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019