Revenue has updated its Tax and Duty Manual to reflect the release of three new iXBRL taxonomies and is now accepting iXBRL submissions tagged with the 2022 Irish Extension taxonomies – FRS 101 Irish Extension 2022, FRS 102 Irish Extension 2022 and EU IFRS Irish Extension 2022. The structure of the taxonomies can be viewed on Taxonomy Viewer with a summary of changes available in Appendix III of the document.

In a new report published recently, Housing Taxation in OECD Countries, the OECD states that the functioning of housing markets can be improved by efficient, effective, and equitable housing taxation. The report provides an assessment of the wide range of taxes on residential property, highlighting the substantial scope for reform to enhance equity, economic efficiency, and revenues.

The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D., has published his response to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s Fiscal Assessment Report. Welcoming “the Council’s assessment that the Government’s overall fiscal stance in the Stability Programme Update is conducive to prudent economic and budgetary management.”, the Minister fully agreed “with the Council’s view that many fiscal challenges lie ahead of us. These include financing an ageing population, climate change mitigation, the digital transition and the strong possibility of a fall in corporation tax receipts. These challenges underline the importance of rebuilding our fiscal buffers in the years ahead.” The Minister concluded that the Government will continue to target fiscal support in Budget 2023.

Revenue has published guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) in a new Tax and Duty Manual. RZLT applies to land that, on or after 1 January 2022, is zoned as being suitable for residential development and is serviced, with certain exclusions. RZLT is an annual tax, calculated at 3 percent of the market value of the land within its scope. An owner of land, which is zoned as suitable for residential development and serviced on 1 January 2022 and where development has not commenced before 1 February 2024, will be liable to file a return and pay RZLT on or before 23 May 2024. Where land comes within the scope of the RZLT after 1 January 2022, the tax will be first due in the third year after it comes within scope. RZLT will continue to be payable each year unless a deferral applies or the land ceases to be liable to the tax. The tax does not apply to existing residential properties but owners of residential properties with yards or gardens exceeding 0.4047 hectares must register for RZLT, but not pay it. Each local authority is required to prepare and publish a map, to be updated annually, identifying land within the scope of the tax. Further information is available in Revenue’s eBrief 148/22.

HMRC’s latest schedule of webinars is now available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place. HMRC has also made available a YouTube video which contains an overview of how to report COVID-19 support payments and grants on Company Tax Returns, what happens if you’ve claimed too much and the records that must be kept.  Making Tax Digital for VAT: register here This webinar will provide some of the basics of Making Tax Digital for VAT. This includes what has changed, using software and keeping digital records, plus an introduction to penalty reform. From April 2022, these requirements apply to all VAT-registered businesses, including those with turnover below the £85,000 VAT registration threshold.

Last week, the Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, responded to the Department of Finance’s public consultation on Pillar Two Minimum Tax Rate Implementation. Pillar Two primarily consists of the Global anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rules, which will introduce a global minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent for in-scope businesses. Work on this is well advanced at an international level, with a proposed EU Directive due to implement the rules in Member States in a coordinated way. As the Pillar Two framework will have significant impacts for Ireland across our fiscal, budgetary and industrial policies, the purpose of this public consultation is to seek the views of stakeholders on the transposition of Pillar Two into Irish law and to consider any challenges in that regard. Some of the key recommendations made in our submission are as follows: There should be ongoing stakeholder engagement throughout the course of implementation of Pillar Two to enable stakeholders to adapt most efficiently to the new reporting regime and provide meaningful input throughout the implementation process. The R&D Tax Credit should be modified to ensure that the effective tax rate calculation is not prejudiced because of the domestic rules regarding the repayment of excess R&D tax credits. Ireland should adopt a Qualified Domestic Top-up Tax (QDTUT). Ireland should also advocate at both an OECD and EU level for a safe harbour that will deem top-up tax for a jurisdiction to be nil where it implements a QDTUT. The Government should ensure that the international community remains fully aware that the headline rate of corporation tax in Ireland remains 12.5 per cent for the 160,000 businesses who will continue to pay corporation tax at this rate. At the same time, the Government must undertake a broad review of Ireland’s tax regime for businesses and individuals in light of the reduced attractiveness of Ireland’s 12.5 per cent rate for the world’s largest companies. As part of this simplification process, the Government should acknowledge the work completed earlier in the year as part of the Department of Finance’s public consultation on a territorial system of taxation and set a clear pathway to establishing such a system of corporate taxation.   Our full submssion can be found at www.charteredaccountants.ie.

This month’s tidbits cover the latest guidance in several areas and the most up to date HMRC organisation chart.

In this week’s EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit and news from HMRC about the closure of the CHIEF training service. Issues are being reported with June 2022 import VAT statements and we also update you on recent developments in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. Northern Ireland Protocol Bill update Two further committee stage sittings for the Bill took place last week on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 July 2022. Unexpectedly, third reading of the Bill also took place on Wednesday 20 July after MPs voted by a majority for third reading to occur before the summer recess. No amendments to the Bill were made with reports saying the UK Government sees it as their “top legislative priority”. The Bill has now completed its various stages in the House of Commons however as summer recess has now commenced, the Bill will not progress to the House of Lords until Parliament returns on Monday 5 September 2022. On the same day, the next leader of the Conservative Party and UK Prime Minister will also be announced. On Friday 22 July, the EU launched further legal action against the UK for alleged breaches of the Protocol. The four infringement proceedings concern customs enforcement, and excise and VAT rules. These new legal actions are in addition to the three infringement proceedings which began on 15 June 2022. Members will continue to be updated on developments in relation to the Bill in Chartered Accountants Tax News. CHIEF training service closure From 10am tomorrow Tuesday 26 July 2022, the free HMRC CHIEF training service is closing in preparation for the move to the Customs Declaration Service (“CDS”) for all import declarations from 1 October 2022. HMRC recognises that some traders may still need to use the CHIEF training service while they complete their move to the CDS hence continued access may be granted on an exceptional needs basis. Traders can make an application to do so by emailing HMRC. Please use the subject line ‘CHIEF TRAINING SERVICE’ and state in the email when you intend to move to the CDS. Requests will be considered on an individual case basis. HMRC has stated that the CHIEF training service should only be used to develop an understanding of submission obligations before going live and to submit declarations in a test environment. It should not be used to test how to reduce liabilities by generating duty and VAT estimates on declarations which have not been submitted.  HMRC strongly urges businesses to move to the CDS now to ensure they are ready to make all import declarations via the CDS from 1 October 2022.  Issues with import VAT statements HMRC has asked us to highlight that it has identified a technical issue with June 2022 import VAT statements which may mean that the import VAT figures showing on the statement may not be correct. Businesses are therefore advised not to use import VAT statements published by HMRC between 4 - 8 July 2022 (inclusive). More information is available at Complete your VAT Return to account for import VAT. Miscellaneous updated guidance etc. The latest guidance updates, and publications relevant to EU exit are as follows:- Customs declaration completion requirements for Great Britain; CHIEF: customs procedure codes; Search the register of customs agents and fast parcel operators; Check simplified procedure value rates for fresh fruit and vegetables; Receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse (Excise Notice 197); Apply to access Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (C1800); Apply to use simplified declarations for imports you entered in your records without authorisation; Flexible Accounting System for imports (Customs Notice 100); Apply to use simplified declarations for imports; Refunds and waivers on customs debt by HMRC; Search the register of customs agents and fast parcel operators; EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance; Safety and security requirements on imports and exports; Get a goods movement reference: service availability and issues; Delaying declarations for goods brought into Great Britain; and Duty due on bananas imported into the UK.

The latest Agent Update 98 has recently been published and sets out changes to the VAT Registration Service, which was covered in recent editions, with the switch over to the new system going live next week on Monday 1 August. Agents have actions to take in respect of any unsubmitted applications they may have in the existing system – these will be lost unless submitted by 5pm Sunday 31 July 2022. The main change to note is that there will be automatic enrolment in Making Tax Digital for VAT if a taxpayer has not already enrolled. By way of background, HMRC has been developing a new VAT Registration Service (“VRS”) which aims to speed up the process and improve security. HMRC has been testing the service throughout the past 18 months and has now had over 37,000 successfully register their own business. The next step is to switch on the new functionality for Agents, at which time HMRC will divert all new applications from the legacy service. One of the key changes is that every taxpayer will be automatically signed up to Making Tax Digital as part of registration, removing the need for that extra step. This service will go live on 1 August 2022. HMRC recommends that incomplete, unsubmitted VAT applications are submitted by 31 July 2022 at 5pm. Any partially completed, saved applications on the old service will be lost after this time. Agents will however have the same functionality in the new service to save applications for up to four weeks before submitting them.

1 September 2022 is the deadline for registering non-taxpaying trusts that existed on 6 October 2020 on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (“TRS”). This applies even if the trust has since been closed. Taxable trusts created on or after 6 April 2021 must register within 90 days of the trust becoming liable for tax, or by 1 September 2022 (whichever is later). There are different registration deadlines for taxable trusts that were created before 6 April 2021.  More information on trusts that must register on the TRS and those which are excluded from registering is available here:- Trusts and Estates: detailed information. More detailed technical information is available in the Trust Registration Service Manual. The Institute discussed the extension of the TRS recently with the Law Society for Northern Ireland. Members are advised that the scenarios where registration under the TRS is required is widely drawn and can catch scenarios such as trusts which have closed since 6 October 2020 and certain estates in administration. HMRC’s compliance approach in respect of the extension of the TRS is also currently unknown. The Institute has raised this with HMRC to ascertain both the penalty regime and if a soft landing will be available. Readers are advised that the trust section of HMRC’s Agent Forum also answers particular questions and should be used to raise general questions on the TRS.

HMRC has published its 2021/22 annual report and accompanying performance overview together with various associated publications including recent stakeholder engagement research. The 2021/22 annual report on the HMRC Charter has also been published. This report acknowledges the choices HMRC made around prioritisation of work “meant that customer service levels fell below where we wanted them to be for most of the year”. In the annual report, Jim Harra, Chief Executive of HMRC, recognised that customer service levels “have not been where we would wish them to be” and apologised to taxpayers and agents who have experienced delays. The report goes on to say that HMRC intends to recruit an extra 2,000 staff and also states that the increasingly challenging economic outlook will mean more taxpayers will struggle to meet their tax obligations. HMRC is “clearing record levels of debt”, but the amount of new debt being created is significantly higher than before the pandemic. The Institute regularly discuss HMRC performance at external forum meetings. Members can provide feedback on areas of concern by email to the Institute’s Tax team. The following associated documents were also published:- HMRC's Compliance Yield: How HMRC reports Future Revenue Benefit – an update for 2021 to 2022; Customer compliance: How HMRC’s compliance yield is split by business area; Customer compliance: our approach to tax compliance and large businesses; Customer compliance: our approach to tax compliance for wealthy individuals and mid-sized businesses; Issue briefings from HMRC; HMRC issue briefing: tackling error and fraud in the Covid-19 support schemes; and Measuring error and fraud in the COVID-19 schemes. Recent HMRC performance data has also been published:- HMRC quarterly performance updates; HMRC monthly performance reports; HMRC quarterly performance report: January to March 2022; and HMRC monthly performance report: March 2022.

The second 2021/22 self-assessment payment on account for income tax and Class 4 NIC is due for payment on or before midnight Sunday 31 July 2022. Each payment on account is half of the previous year’s tax bill. Information on time to pay arrangements and how to apply is available on GOV.UK. Anyone who is self-employed is required to make two payments on account every tax year unless:- their last Self-Assessment tax bill was less than £1,000; or they’ve already paid more than 80% of all the tax owed, for example through their tax code. If a taxpayer knows their tax bill is going to be lower than last year, a request can be made to HMRC to reduce payments on account.

Last week, the UK Government published draft Finance Bill 2022/23 clauses, which will underpin Finance Act 2023, together with accompanying explanatory notes, tax information and impact notes, consultation responses and other supporting documents. As recommended by the Institute in its response to the “Call for evidence: Income Tax Self Assessment registration for the self-employed and landlords”, no change is being made to the date of registration for self-employment. Changes were also announced to the UK’s R&D tax relief regimes which take effect from April 2023. Last week’s announcements largely build on policies announced at Autumn Budget 2021 and last year’s Tax Administration and Maintenance Day. Two new consultation documents were published including one seeking views on “Improving the data HMRC collects from its customers” which closes on 12 October 2022. This proposes a number of potential options for improving the range of data HMRC collects. The consultation sets out six core new data options. The Institute was made aware of this project at a HMRC forum meeting last week and highlighted the need for HMRC to use its existing data sources more effectively before seeking new ones. The Institute also raised concerns in respect of data protection and taxpayer confidentiality. Last week’s legislation day also included the publication of responses to the following consultations:- Helping taxpayers get offshore tax right invited views on how HMRC can help taxpayers get their offshore tax right; Preventing and collecting international tax debt sought views on how HMRC can better prevent and collect international UK tax debt; Corporation Tax: response to accounting changes for insurance contracts asked for feedback on the design of tax regulations which will apply to accounting periods beginning from 2023 to deal with a change in the way insurance contracts are accounted for; and UK implementation of Pillar 2 considered the implementation of one aspect of the agreement to reform the international tax framework in response to the challenges of digitalisation. The final two summary of responses set out above were published alongside draft legislation which was published for a number of potential Finance Bill 2022/23 measures. In respect of the draft legislation to implement Pillar Two in the UK, HMRC is consulting on the draft legislation until 14 September 2022. Associated publications available on GOV.UK are as follows:- Check the status of tax policy consultations; Finance Bill 2022-23, Finance Bill 2021-2022: Report Stage and Draft Finance Bill 2022-23 legislation: impacting definitions and declaration; Research and Development Tax Relief changes; Research and Development Tax Relief reform; Low earners anomaly: pensions relief relating to net pay arrangements; New transfer pricing documentation requirements for UK businesses; Introduction of the new multinational top-up tax; New tax checks for licence renewal applications in Scotland and Northern Ireland; Capital Gains Tax: transfers of assets between spouses and civil partners in the process of separating; Double Taxation Relief claims; and Reporting rules for digital platforms.

The Government’s Summer Economic Statement sets out plans to tackle inflation and rising living costs in Budget 2023. Susan Kilty digs into the details. The Summer Economic Statement released this month outlines the broad measures we can expect to see in Budget 2023 against the backdrop of rising public debt prompted by the cost of the government’s numerous pandemic support schemes. Until recently, Ireland – like many developed economies – could borrow interest-free in the eurozone. Currently, however, we are facing significant inflationary pressures across the eurozone. In the case of Ireland, inflation is estimated by Eurostat to have reached an annual rate of 9.6 percent in June, higher than the figures predicted by most economic forecasters. These inflationary pressures and the expectation of tougher monetary policies from central banks have led to higher interest rates and borrowing costs. Tackling inflation, and supporting those struggling with increased costs, lies at the heart of the Summer Economic Statement. The Government is also facing an ongoing housing crisis, a scarcity of public health services, an ageing population and a physical environment that is increasingly showing the side effects of climate change. In the Spring of 2022, tax revenue for 2022 was projected to total €75.8 billion, up almost 11 percent annually. One of the primary drivers of this revenue growth is the strength of corporation tax receipts, which amounted to €15.3 billion last year. Half of these receipts are attributable to just ten large taxpayers, however. This means that our corporate tax-take relies largely on the continued presence of these taxpayers in Ireland, alongside other multinationals paying significant tax relative to indigenous businesses. The Government intends to use these corporation tax receipts to rebuild its fiscal buffers in the years ahead, and not for day-to-day spending. The Summer Economic Statement projects core expenditure of €85.8 billion in 2023. Core expenditure relates to ongoing permanent expenditure on public services and capital expenditure on health services, education and social support. This core expenditure includes an overall budgetary package of €6.7 billion, comprising additional public spending of €5.65 billion and tax measures amounting to €1.5 billion.  In terms of spending, the €6.7 billion figure represents a 6.5 percent jump on the year prior – greater than the five percent growth predicted in last year's budget. This increase is aimed at tackling the impact of inflation while also protecting the provision of core public services. Of the €6.7 billion figure, €3 billion will be aimed at these core public services. The remaining €3.7 billion will be allocated on Budget Day. The Government is also providing for an overall taxation package of €1.05 billion next year. This is double the amount set out in the original strategy and, once again, reflects the need to adjust the parameters given the higher-than-assumed level of inflation. One of the critical objectives of taxation policy in the forthcoming budget will be to prevent workers from having to pay additional tax purely because they have moved into higher tax brackets because of inflation. Overcoming challenges The proposed allocations demonstrate an adaptive approach by the Government, which has expressed the need for additional funding to balance the provision of public services to prevent excessive spending resulting in an overheated economy. The Government also appears to be mindful of the precarious nature of its current corporation tax receipts and is looking to make the most of the high tax take from this source. More broadly, it recognises the turbulent state of the global economy and a willingness to provide the necessary resources to support Irish society through this challenging time. In my view, there is a clear need to balance budgetary measures to ease the inflationary impact with more long-term measures, which would help Ireland weather the challenges of housing supply, an economic downturn, climate change, ageing demographics, and digital transition. Sound management of the economy is needed to boost productivity, attract investment (particularly in the green and digital space) and support indigenous businesses. Susan Kilty is Head of Tax at PwC.

Despite efforts to balance gender, most organisations have a disproportionate number of men in senior roles. Dawn Leane explains how we can redress the balance by focusing on what women really need. The importance of gender balance in the workplace is well established. Yet, despite much discussion and policy development, a significant gender imbalance persists at senior level in most organisations. Information and insight are both critical to developing interventions, which can address this imbalance. Much of the available research does little more than compare men and women in the workplace, however. While this approach does have value, it is only one aspect of a highly complex issue, as explored in Women in Business: Navigating Career Success, published in 2012 by Fiona Dent and Viki Holton. Rather than contrasting their experiences to those of their male counterparts, the book focused on women's experiences and examined the factors that either encourage or inhibit their progress. In one part of the research, Dent and Holton asked participants what career advice they would offer other women. Respondents highlighted the following: Early opportunities to be visible (such as leading a key piece of work or project); Support from a variety of sources (including a coach or mentor, colleague, family or friends –  87 percent identified their manager as a critical source of career support); and The need to be ambitious and intentional. Early opportunities Women often get fewer opportunities than men to take on significant assignments. They can also find that their ideas are less likely to be heard and recognised. As such, women can miss out on meaningful developmental feedback. The Accenture report, Getting To Equal 2018: Young Leaders, revealed that women aged 30 and under will experience several barriers to their advancement within their first five years of working. This result is supported by McKinsey and LeanIn.org’s Women in the Workplace 2021 report, which found that for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 86 women are promoted. McKinsey termed this phenomenon 'the broken rung', which leads to an unbalanced talent pipeline. Women must close the early gaps in hiring and promotion, improving their visibility by stepping forward to take on key projects and assignments. Available supports Dent and Holton identified that women avail of various supports inside and outside the workplace. For example: Sponsors: senior leaders of any gender who act as sounding boards and advocates, often facilitating the development of key network connections. Mentors: colleagues who support and guide based on their experience, offering a safe environment to ask questions and get advice. Mentors can be of any gender and exist inside or outside the organisation. Executive coach: this person takes a non-directive role. A coach helps women develop strategies and action plans by unlocking their self-awareness and capabilities. The skills and behaviours developed through executive coaching are enduring. Networking: Women often don't have access to a network early in their careers. As networks are usually vital sources of information, this can limit their opportunity to make essential connections. Women must invest in building and maintaining strategic network connections. Being ambitious and intentional The key for women keen to increase their visibility and support in the workplace is to develop a ‘professional brand.’ This is what others say about you, and it is often overlooked by women. To change this and improve your chances of getting ahead in the workplace, I recommend that you start to think strategically about the messages you want to convey to colleagues, what these messages represent, and who your 'brand ambassadors' should be. Dawn Leane is Founder of Leane Leaders and Leane Empower. This is the first article in a series about women in the workplace.

Encouraging discretionary effort should be a primary objective in any employee engagement strategy, writes Paul O'Donnell. “Discretionary effort” is the contribution an employee chooses to make over and above what is expected of them in their role. It comes in the form of unseen effort, but can boost a team’s performance, sometimes yielding an otherwise unattainable result. While good management, clear goals and effective systems enable satisfactory output from employees, the door to a person's discretionary effort is locked from within. Once unlocked, however, it can help teams to deliver on better customer service, higher sales, repeat business, more profit and improved shareholder value. Here are four leadership behaviours that can help managers tap into and leverage employees' discretionary efforts. Invite employees to disagree  Listen to your employees' contributions by asking them to qualify their suggestions and re-work thoughts and proposals where gaps arise. Leaders may be worried that this will create tension. In fact, it reduces tension, as it allows employees’ thoughts and ideas to emerge more freely. Allow your employees to influence Allowing your team members to realise their potential can be a powerful force. Coaching them in how to interact with and lead others on a task or project offers high-value learning. By making them feel valued, your team’s responsibilities and commitment are given room to grow. Resist the impulse to solve problems Ninety percent of a solution implemented correctly is better than the full solution executed poorly, and a leader's primary objective should always be to ensure the best outcome. This is achieved when the leader does not directly undertake a task, but instead coaches others so that they can take the lead on a project without direct input. It also leaves the leader free to explore ideas from other team members, which can help to enhance performance and output. Strengths-based approach to leadership Too often in formal feedback meetings the focus is on how to address performance gaps. A strengths-based culture seeks to align employees to tasks and projects based on their skillsets, helping to build their confidence. Instead of assigning work, ask your team who wants to take on different aspects of a project. As their self-belief grows, encourage them to take on additional tasks that require similar competencies so that they can widen their skillset. Ultimately, this is all about leaders demonstrating growth and respect. Engagement is a positive for any organisation, though it comes in many forms. Being transparent, encouraging respectful debate, and providing opportunities for personal learning and growth can all help to boost performance. Paul O'Donnell is CEO of HRM Search Partners.

The FRC has today published Good Practice Guidance for Company Meetings which is a guide for companies and shareholders to help ensure that there is effective shareholder engagement and participation when planning and conducting Annual General Meetings (AGMs). While the guidance is written with AGMs as its focus, it also considers other general meetings convened during the year. The guidance does not override existing law or duties of the chair or directors. The guidance considers seven key principles for companies and shareholders to adhere to before the meeting, during the meeting, after the meeting and subsequently engaging throughout the year and offers some guidance on how these principles can be achieved.

In Irish tax developments, Revenue publishes updates to the 2022 Form CT1, and the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight publishes its report on the indexation of the taxation and social protection system.  On the UK front, the first plastic packaging tax filing and payment deadline is approaching next Friday 29 July and HMRC clarifies the new VAT late filing and payment penalty rules which take effect from 1 January 2023. In International news, the OECD launches a new consultation on Pillar One. Ireland 1.   Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual which highlights the updates in the Form CT1 2022 for accounting periods ending in 2022. 2.   The Report on the Indexation of the Taxation and Social Protection System was published by the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight. UK 3.   The first plastic packaging tax filing and payment deadline is approaching next Friday 29 July. 4.   HMRC clarifies the new VAT late filing and payment penalty rules which take effect from 1 January 2023 and in particular the “soft landing” which will be available. International 5.   The OECD is seeking public comments on the Progress Report on Amount A of Pillar One. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount.    

In this week’s EU Exit Bulletin, we update you on developments in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and bring you the latest EU exit guidance updates and publications. See also an email from HMRC about issues experienced recently with the goods vehicle movement service and HMRC has asked us to share an update on the VAT second-hand motor vehicle export refund scheme. Northern Ireland Protocol Bill update Two further committee stage sittings for the Bill took place earlier this week on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 July 2022. Unexpectedly, third reading of the Bill also took place on Wednesday 20 July after MPs voted by a majority for third reading to occur before the summer recess. No amendments to the Bill were made with reports saying the UK Government sees it as their “top legislative priority”. The Bill has now completed its various stages in the House of Commons however as summer recess begins after today Friday 22 July 2022, the Bill will not progress to the House of Lords until Parliament returns on Monday 5 September 2022. On the same day, the next leader of the Conservative Party and the next Prime Minister of the UK will also be announced. Members will be updated on developments in relation to the Bill in Chartered Accountants Tax News. Second-hand motor vehicle export refund scheme – update from HMRC The VAT second-hand motor vehicle export refund scheme which we have been updating you about was due to be introduced in October 2022. As negotiation on the Protocol continues, HMRC has advised Chartered Accountants Ireland that implementation of the new scheme has been delayed and the start date will not now be 1 October 2022. The accompanying guidance will be updated to reflect this. HMRC wishes to reassure businesses that they can continue to use the second hand margin scheme in Northern Ireland on a limited basis until the new scheme commences. Miscellaneous updated guidance etc. The latest guidance updates, and publications relevant to EU exit are as follows:- Apply to operate a customs warehouse; Aggregating simplified declarations for imports using CHIEF; Apply for Authorised Economic Operator status; Making a delayed supplementary import declaration using CHIEF; Apply to delay or pay less duty on goods you import to process or repair; Apply to pay less duty on goods you export to process or repair; Find out what types of Authorised Economic Operator status you can apply for; Apply to operate a temporary storage facility; Apply to use Simplified Import VAT Accounting; Apply to use the Freeport customs special procedure; Apply to import multiple low value parcels on one declaration; Apply to import goods temporarily to the UK; Apply to pay less duty on goods you import for specific uses; Notices made under the Customs (Special Procedures and Outward Processing) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018; and Notices made under the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.  

Companies Registration Office-Annual Report 2021 The Companies Registration Office (CRO) recently published its 2021 Annual Report. It provides useful information on various aspects of the CRO’s work. For example, in relation to unregistered auditors, the CRO stated that it received no reports in 2021 of unregistered auditors attempting to file false auditors’ reports. There were 14 instances where auditors notified the CRO that their Auditors Registration Number (ARN) was used to file auditors’ reports without permission and one case of an auditor stating their details were used in error. In relation to future developments, the CRO Report references the requirement of section 35 of the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 (“2021 Act”). When enacted this will require a director to include his or her personal public service number in an application to incorporate a company, an annual return made by a company of which he or she is a director and a notice of change of directors or secretaries. The CRO is working with software vendors and stakeholders to prepare for the commencement of this section of the Act and the CRO report states that it is expected that this requirement will be introduced in early 2023. You can access the report on the publications section of their website and please click here for a copy.  Report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies 2021 The Report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies 2021 has also been published recently. The report records the activities of this office and statistics in respect of industrial and provident societies, trade unions and friendly societies up to 31st December 2021. You can access the report on the RFS publications section of the CRO website and please click here for a copy.