Revenue Audits

Tue, Feb 3, 2009

Just when you thought you had a good grasp of the 2002 Revenue Audit Code of Practice and relevant legislation, working through a Revenue Audit as you know it, is turned on its head with the introduction of Finance Act (No 2) 2008.

The Finance Act essentially changed the civil penalty regime and the criteria for publication of defaulters. In brief this can be summarised as follows:

Revenue could always apply penalties under the 2002 Revenue Audit Code of Practice. Under the new tax laws, where there is no agreement with a taxpayer on the amount of a penalty due or where an agreed penalty is not paid, the Revenue can now take the taxpayer to court and the court will decide if such a penalty is due.
The terms 'unprompted', 'prompted' and 'qualifying disclosure' were terms only found in the Audit Code of Practice but now these terms are defined in the Tax Acts. A taxpayer who makes an unprompted or prompted qualifying disclosure does not have their name published. Of course if a case which qualifies for non-publication goes to court on a penalty dispute, then publication will effectively arise due to the public nature of our courts system.
The new provisions also change the definition of the behaviour that gives rise to a civil penalty from 'fraudulently' and 'negligently' to 'deliberately' or 'carelessly'.
A range of fixed penalties are also substantially increased.

Don't let this summary mislead you into thinking that the new tax law is straight forward. As always the devil is in the detail and on close inspection, there are many changes to definitions and conditions on the migration of commonly understood terms from the 2002 Audit Code of Practice to the Tax Acts. The existing Code of Practice is also undergoing reconstructive surgery to fit in with the new legislation which will no doubt yield plenty of issues for consideration.

Every accountant and tax practitioner dealing with Revenue Audits must now appreciate that there is a real possibility that the Revenue Audit case on his desk now could end up in court. Therefore, knowledge is essential in the shadow of this added layer of complexity when dealing with Revenue Audits.

Revenue Audits...from legislation to application

A one day seminar for all accountants

This seminar will provide a practical review of recent amendments to tax legislation and the Audit Code of Practice while also providing the participant with useful advice on how to best apply the legislation and prepare for a Revenue Intervention.

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