667DSuccession farm partnerships.

(1) A primary participant, in relation to a registered farm partnership may apply to the Minister to also enter the registered farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships established and maintained under and in accordance with this section and regulations under subsection (7) (in this section referred to as the ‘register of succession farm partnerships’) and shall comply with all requirements relating to the application so specified.

(2) In order to be entered on the register of succession farm partnerships, a registered farm partnership shall comply with all of the following conditions:

(a)subject to subsections (3) and (4), the farm partnership shall have at least 2 members, each of whom shall be a natural person,

(b)of the members of the farm partnership—

(i) at least one shall comply with clause (I) of section 667C(1A)(b) (v), in so far as that clause refers to owned farm land, (in this section referred to as the ‘farmer’), and

(ii) of the others, each member shall not yet have reached 40 years of age and shall comply with subclauses (A) and (B) of section 667C(1A)(b)(v)(II)(in this section referred to as a ‘successor’),

(c)the business plan of the farm partnership shall have been submitted to, and approved by, the Minister,

(d)subject to subsection (3)(a), the farmer shall enter an agreement with one or more than one of the successors (in this section referred to as an ‘agreement’) to transfer or sell at least 80 per cent of the farm assets to which the farm partnership applies, to the successor, or successors, at a time during the period beginning 3 years after and ending 10 years after the date that the application is made under subsection (1), and

(e)the terms of the ^[2]>partnership agreement^<[2][2]>agreement under subsection (2)(d)^<[2] shall include—

(i)the farm assets of the farm partnership on the day that the application is made under subsection (1),

(ii)any conditions to which the transfer or sale will be subject,

(iii)the year in which the proposed transfer may take place, and

(iv)any other terms agreed between the farmer and successor, or successors, including in relation to the farm assets, the conduct of the farming trade or the creation of any rights of residence in dwellings on the farm land.

(3)Where the farm assets, or an interest in the farm assets, referred to in a succession farm partnership—

(a)are jointly owned prior to the formation of the succession farm partnership, no agreement under subsection (2)(d) shall be made unless each person who jointly owns or jointly holds an interest in the land concerned, gives full and informed consent to the agreement to the transfer of those assets under subsection (2)(d) and joins in the agreement,

(b)are jointly farmed prior to the formation of the succession farm partnership, whether jointly owned or not, any individual who jointly farmed the lands which are to be transferred under subsection (2)(d) with the farmer, may, notwithstanding subsection (2)(a),become a partner in the partnership notwithstanding that that individual would be a non-active partner.

(4)Where the farmer wishes to form a succession farm partnership with both the successor and that successor’s spouse or civil partner then that spouse or civil partner may become a partner in the partnership notwithstanding that that individual would be a non-active partner and the agreement under subsection (2)(d) may provide for the joint transfer or sale of the farm assets concerned to both a successor and that successor’s spouse or civil partner.

(5)(a) The Minister shall only enter a farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships where he or she is satisfied that the farm partnership has met the conditions set out in subsection (2).

(b) Where the Minister is not satisfied that the farm partnership is continuing to meet the conditions set out in subsection (2), then the Minister shall remove the partnership from the register of succession farm partnerships with effect from the date upon which the partnership ceased to meet those conditions.

(6)(a) Subject to paragraph (b), for the year of assessment in which the farm partnership is registered as a succession farm partnership and the 4 years of assessment immediately following that year of assessment, each partner in that partnership shall be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the ‘succession tax credit’) of the lesser amount of—

(i)€5,000 per year of assessment divided between the partners in accordance with their profit sharing ratio under their partnership agreement, or

(ii) the assessable profits (after deducting any capital allowances related to that trade) of that partner’s several trade.

(b)No partner in a succession farm partnership shall be entitled to the succession tax credit in a year of assessment where a successor has attained the age of 40 years at the commencement of that year of assessment.

(c)If the farm assets are not transferred in accordance with the agreement under subsection (2)(d) then, subject to paragraphs (d) and (e), the farmer shall be deemed to have paid an annual payment, to which section 238 applies, of €125,000, or such lower amount as would result in the tax due under section 238 equalling the succession tax credit claimed by all partners, in the latest year of assessment in which the transfer could have taken place.

(d)If it is shown to the satisfaction of a Revenue officer that the farm assets would have been transferred in accordance with subsection (2)(d)but the successor was no longer willing to proceed in accordance with the agreement under that subsection, then paragraph (c) shall apply as if references to the farmer were references to the successor.

(e)If it is shown to the satisfaction of a Revenue officer that the farm assets were not transferred because of mutual agreement between the farmer and the successor, then each partner shall be deemed to have paid an annual payment in an amount that would result in the tax due pursuant to section 238 equalling the succession tax credit claimed by that partner, in the year of assessment in which the mutual agreement not to transfer the farm assets takes place.

(7)The Minister, having consulted and obtained the approval of the Minister for Finance, may, by regulations, establish and maintain a register of succession farm partnerships and those regulations may provide for—

(a)the form and manner of, and information and documentation required for, an application for entry on the register of succession farm partnerships, and in particular, the form and content of the business plan referred to in subsection (2)(c), and agreements and other evidence required to satisfy the Minister regarding compliance with subsection (2)(d) or (e),

(b)the form and manner of registration of a succession farm partnership on the the register of succession farm partnerships,

(c)the assignment of an identifier to a succession farm partnership the purposes for which and conditions subject to which, it may be used and any link to the unique identifier referred to in section 667C (4A)(iv), and

(d)such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Minister to be necessary and appropriate.

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(8) (a) In this subsection—

‘relevant tax’ means any income tax or universal social charge;

‘relief’ means an amount equivalent to an amount determined by the formula—

A – B

where—

A is the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by a partner in a succession farm partnership for a year of assessment in which a succession tax credit is claimed by the partner, computed as if this section did not apply, and

B is the amount of relevant tax payable by the partner for that year of assessment.

(b) The aggregate amount of relief granted to a person under this section, section 667B and section 81AA of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 shall not exceed the limit of €€70,000 as provided for by Article 18 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 702/2014 of 25 June 2014 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time.

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