917F Electronic transmission of returns.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Acts, the obligation of any person to make a return to which this Chapter applies shall be treated as fulfilled by that person if information is transmitted electronically in compliance with that obligation, but only if—

(a) the transmission is made by an approved person or an authorised person,

(b) the transmission is an approved transmission,

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(c) the transmission bears ^[2]>the approved person’s digital signature^<[2][2]>the approved person’s or the authorised person’s digital signature^<[2] or such other means of electronic identification as may be specified or authorised by the Revenue Commissioners, and

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(c) the transmission bears the electronic identifier of that person, and

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(d) the receipt of the transmission is acknowledged in accordance with section 917J.

(2) In subsection (1), the reference to the information which is required to be included in the return includes any requirement on a person to—

(a) make any statement,

(b) include ^[5]>any particulars^<[5][5]>any information, accounts, statements, reports or further particulars^<[5], or

(c) make or attach any claim.

(3) Where the obligation of any person to make a return to which this Chapter applies is treated as fulfilled in accordance with subsection (1) then, any provision of the Acts which—

(a) requires that the return include or be accompanied by any description of declaration whatever by the person making the return, apart from a declaration of an amount,

(b) requires that the return be signed or accompanied by a certificate,

(c) requires that the return be in writing,

(d) authorises the return to be signed by a person acting under the authority of the person obliged to make the return,

(e) authorises the Revenue Commissioners to prescribe the form of a return or which requires a return to be in or on any prescribed form, or

(f) for the purposes of any claim for exemption or for any allowance, deduction or repayment of tax under the Acts which is required to be made with the return, authorises the Revenue Commissioners to prescribe the form of a claim,

shall not apply.

(4) Where the obligation of any person to make a return to which this Chapter applies is treated as fulfilled in accordance with subsection (1) then, the time at which any requirement under the Acts to make a return is fulfilled shall be the day on which the receipt of the information referred to in that subsection is acknowledged in accordance with section 917J.

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(5) Where the obligation of any person to make a return to which this Chapter applies is treated as fulfilled in accordance with subsection (1), then, in a case where the transmission is made by—

(a) an approved person on behalf of another person, or

(b) an authorised person on behalf of another person (not being the person who authorised that authorised person),

a hard copy of the information to be transmitted shall be made and authenticated in accordance with section 917K.

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(5) Where an approved transmission is made by—

(a) an approved person on behalf of another person, or

(b) an authorised person on behalf of another person (not being the person who authorised that person),

a hard copy of the information shall be made and authenticated in accordance with section 917K.

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(6) (a) Where the obligation of any person to make a return to which this Chapter applies is treated as fulfilled in accordance with subsection (1) then, any requirement that—

(i) the return or any claim which is to be made with or attached to the return should be accompanied by any document (in this subsection referred to as a “supporting document”) other than the return or the claim, and

(ii) the supporting document be delivered with the return or the claim,

shall be treated as fulfilled by the person subject to the requirement if the person or the approved person referred to in subsection (1)(a) retains the document for inspection on request by a revenue officer.

(b) Any person subject to the requirement referred to in paragraph (a) shall produce any supporting documents requested by a revenue officer within 30 days of that request.

(c) The references in this subsection to a document include references to any accounts, certificate, evidence, receipts, reports or statements.