Revenue Note for Guidance

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Revenue Note for Guidance

891F Returns of certain information by financial institutions

Summary

In October 2014 Ireland signed a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement and committed to becoming on the of the Early Adopter jurisdictions in the implementation of the OECD Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information. financial institutions will have to start collecting information about non resident customers in 2016, and this information will be exchanged with partner jurisdictions beginning in 2017.

Section 28 of the Finance Act 2014 inserted section 891F into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. to enable the Revenue Commissioners to make regulations obliging financial institutions to report financial account details in respect of non-resident persons which they can then exchange with relevant participating jurisdictions. The exchange of data is provided for by Ireland’s ratification on the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Taxation which is given legislative effect by Section 826 of the TCA.

Details

Subsection (1) sets out the purpose of the Section.

Subsection (2) defines the “standard” as the OECD Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information and provides that other defined terms viz account holder, financial account, high value account, lower value account, reportable account, reporting financial institution and TIN (Tax Identification Number) have the meanings given to them in the standard. The use of the meanings given in the standard is designed to ensure that the standard operates in a consistent manner with other participating jurisdictions.

Subsection (3) allows the Revenue Commissioners to make regulations under this section.

Subsection (4) states that the regulations may include provisions—

(a) setting out the date by which financial institutions will have to make the returns required under the regulations,

(b) prescribing the format of the return,

(c) specifying the information to be included in the return,

(d) specifying-

(i) the currency in which the financial institutions is required to report,

(ii) the rules for conversion of amounts denominated in a different currency,

(e) specifying the requirement of the financial institutions to identify reportable accounts,

(f) specifying the records and documents to be examined and obtained by the financial institution to enable the institution to identify reportable accounts,

(g) specifying the records to be retained in relation to reportable accounts

(h) specifying the additional requirements in relation to high value accounts and lower value accounts,

(i) setting the circumstances in which a financial institution is required to aggregate all financial accounts held by the same individual or entity for the purpose of reporting those accounts,

(j) specifying the actions to be taken by a registered financial institution where there is a change in circumstances in regard to the account holder,

(k) setting out the conditions under which a financial institution may appoint a third party as its agent to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on it by the regulations,

(l) setting out the circumstances in which a registered financial institution may make a nil return,

(m) imposing an obligation on, and setting out the circumstances and time in which, a financial institution is obliged to obtain, and a customer is obliged to provide, a tax reference number,

(n) defining “books” and “records for the purposes of the regulations,

(o) determining the manner of keeping records and setting the period for retention of records so kept,

(p) enabling the authorisation of Revenue officers, for the purpose of such officers

(i) requiring

(I) the production of books, records or other documents,

(II) the provision of information, explanations and particulars, and

(III)persons to give all such assistance as may reasonably required and as is specified in regulations, in relation to financial accounts within such time as may be specified in the regulations, and

(ii) enabling the officers to make extracts from or copies of books, records or other documents or requiring that copies of such books, records and documents be made available, and

(q) specifying such supplemental and incidental matters as appears to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary

(i) to enable any person to fulfil their obligations under the regulations, or

(ii) for the general administrations and implementation of the regulations, including

(I) delegating authority to a Revenue officer to allow them to discharge any functions authorised by this section, and

(II) authorisation of Revenue officers by the Revenue Commissioners to exercise any powers or functions conferred by this section.

Subsection (5) provides that every regulation made under the section must be laid before the Dáil as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by the Dáil within the next 21 days on which the Dáil has sat after the regulation has been laid before it, the regulation shall be so annulled but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Subsection (6) provides that a Revenue officer authorised under the regulations may enter any premises or place of business of a financial institution for the purposes of

  1. determining whether information
    1. included in a return was correct, or
    2. not included in a return was correctly not included, or
  2. examining the procedures put in place by the financial institution for the purposes of complying with its obligations under the regulations.

Subsection (7)

  1. provides that Section 898O shall apply to
    1. a reporting financial institution fails to make a return as required by the regulations, and
    2. the making of incorrect or incomplete returns, as it applies to the failure to make a return or the making of incorrect or incomplete returns as referred to in section 898O.
  2. provides that a person who does not comply with
    1. the requirements of a Revenue officer in the exercise of the officer’s powers or duties under section 891F or the regulations, or
    2. with any requirements of the regulations, a penalty of €1,265.

Subsection (8) provides that section 4 of the Post Office Savings Bank Act 1861 will not apply to the disclosure of information required to be included in a return made under the regulations.

Subsection (9) is an anti avoidance provision that provides that where arrangements are entered into by any person and the main purpose or one of the main purposes of the arrangements is the avoidance of any of the obligations imposed by section 891F or the regulations, then the section and the regulations shall apply as if those arrangements had not been entered into.

Subsection (10) provides that where regulations are made under this section, any word or expression used in the making of those regulations will have the same meaning as given to it by Section VIII of the Standard.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019