New legislation introduced by Finance Act 2017 governs Revenue’s processing of taxpayer information and taxpayer’s rights in relation to such processing. This legislation is contained in section 851B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) and provides that Revenue’s processing of taxpayer information has a legal basis that is compatible with the General Data Protection Regulation, also known as GDPR.

Revenue have published a new Tax and Duty manual explaining the application of section 851B TCA 1997. This new manual is available on the Revenue website, www.revenue.ie.

Section 851B TCA 1997 provides for data protection safeguards in respect of taxpayer information and provides the legal basis for the data protection principles that Revenue operate.

Finance Act 2017 also amended section 851A TCA 1997 to enable Revenue to disclose taxpayer information to Department of Finance and the Commission of the European Union in certain circumstances.

More information on GDPR and guidance is available from the Data Protection Commissioner website, www.dataprotection.ie.