904J Power of inspection: tax deduction from payments in respect of professional services by certain persons.

(1) In this section—

“accountable person” has the same meaning as in section 521;

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised by them in writing to exercise the powers conferred by this section;

“books, records or other documents” includes—

(a) any records used in the business of an accountable person whether—

(i) comprised in bound volume, loose-leaf binders or other loose-leaf filing system, loose-leaf ledger sheets, pages, folios or cards, or

(ii) kept on microfilm, magnetic tape or in any non-legible form (by the use of electronics or otherwise) which is capable of being reproduced in a legible form,

and

(b) every electronic or other automatic means, if any, by which any such thing in non-legible form is so capable of being reproduced, and

(c) documents in manuscript, documents which are typed, printed, stencilled or created by any other mechanical or partly mechanical process in use from time to time and documents which are produced by any photographic or photostatic process, and

(d) correspondence and records of other communications between an accountable person and a specified person;

“specified person” has the same meaning as in section 520.

(2) An authorised officer may at all reasonable times enter any premises or place of business of an accountable person for the purpose of auditing for a year of assessment returns made by the accountable person under section 525.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), the authorised officer may—

(a) examine the procedures put in place by the accountable person for the purpose of ensuring compliance by the accountable person with that person’s obligations under Chapter 1 of Part 18, and

(b) examine all or a sample of the returns made by the accountable person to determine whether the procedures referred to in paragraph (a) have been observed in practice and whether they are adequate.

(4) An authorised officer may require an accountable person or an employee of the accountable person to produce books, records or other documents and to furnish information, explanations and particulars and to give all assistance, which the authorised officer reasonably requires for the purposes of his or her audit and examination under subsections (2) and (3).

(5) An authorised officer may make extracts from or copies of all or any part of the books, records or other documents or other material made available to him or her or require that copies of books, records, or other documents be made available to him or her, in exercising or performing his or her powers or duties under this section.

(6) An authorised officer when exercising or performing his or her powers or duties under this section shall, on request, produce his or her authorisation for the purposes of this section.

(7) An employee of an accountable person who fails to comply with the requirements of the authorised officer in the exercise or performance of the authorised officer’s powers or duties under this section is liable to a penalty of €1,265.

(8) An accountable person who fails to comply with the requirements of the authorised officer in the exercise or performance of the authorised officer’s powers or duties under this section is liable to a penalty of €19,045 and if that failure continues a further penalty of €2,535 for each day on which the failure continues.