Revenue has published Exceptional Contacts details for practitioners’ use. The Exceptional Contacts Facility is recommended where there is an urgent need to contact Revenue and practitioners/agents have not been able to make contact via normal channels. It is hoped that the Exceptional Contacts Facility will assist in improving communication between the Collector General’s Division and agents/practitioners.

The Department of Finance has published a report titled Ireland public finances beyond the short-term: 10 facts. The report identifies vulnerabilities in the public finances due to corporation and income tax receipts on the revenue side, and the costs associated with an ageing population and the climate and digital transitions on the expenditure side. Further information is available on gov.ie.

The Companies Registration Office (CRO) has announced that 11 June 2023 is the commencement date for the requirement for company directors to provide their PPSNs when filing Forms A1, B1, B10 and B69. Directors without an Irish PPSN must apply for a Verified Identity Number (VIF) using a Form VIF. Further information is available at www.cro.ie.

Revenue has updated the tax registration forms TR1, TR1(FT), TR2 and TR2(FT) providing applicants the option to register for capital gains tax (CGT) when completing these forms. While Revenue expects the majority of registrations to be processed using the ROS portal a full list of forms is available here for use in exceptional circumstances.  

Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual which provides instruction on the income tax treatment of foreign pension lump sum payments which are subject to the provisions of section 200A TCA 1997 ("Lump sums from foreign pension arrangements"). Section 15 of Finance Act 2022 introduced the new section 200A into the TCA 1997 on the treatment of lump sums drawn down from foreign pension arrangements. This section broadly mirrors the provisions applying to the tax treatment of lump sums drawn down from pension arrangements which are subject to section 790AA TCA 1997, e.g., pension lump sums drawn down from approved Irish pension schemes. The manual provides guidance on the interpretation of the provisions included in section 200A and includes worked examples.

Due to another increase in the Bank of England base rate last week, HMRC has since announced the associated increase in its interest rates. The new rates will take effect from Monday 22 May 2023 for quarterly instalment payments and Wednesday 31 May 2023 for non-quarterly instalments payments. The two new increased rates of interest will be as follows:- late payment interest, set at base rate plus 2.5 percent, will increase to 7 percent from 6.75 percent; and repayment interest, set at base rate minus 1 percent, with a lower limit of 0.5 percent (known as the ‘minimum floor’), will increase to 3.5 percent from 3.25 percent.

Due to industrial action between 10 May and 2 June, callers to the Employer Helpline and the Construction Industry Scheme Helpline, which will be open from 9am to 5pm, may experience longer wait times than usual. Readers are reminded that until 2 June, calls to the Agent Dedicated Line are restricted to queries on self-assessment penalties and PAYE coding notices.

HMRC has now sent an update on paper self-assessment returns filed where the self-assessment return was downloaded from GOV.UK and was not a paper form sent out in the post by HMRC. This confirms that such returns will not be rejected. The latest HMRC news and information bulletin is also available. The full message from HMRC on filing paper returns is as follows:- “Paper self-assessment returns which meet the criteria for an acceptable return will still be processed, and that includes copies of the SA100 downloaded from GOV.UK and sent in to HMRC by post. So, to confirm, returns will not be rejected if they were downloaded from GOV.UK  rather than obtained from the order line. However, the changes to the SA100 process are part of an overall change in approach by HMRC to encourage customers to interact with us digitally so we will continue to promote online filing, with the telephone option as the designated route for those who require a paper return, so that we can offer support to customers in getting online where possible. The order line has been set up so that there is a route for taxpayers to obtain a paper return without having to go online. This also provides an opportunity for HMRC to gain some insight and offer support to go digital as we know that digital capability can sometimes change through an individual’s lifetime. We will continue to listen to your views and review processes to improve services for customers, which includes using information gathered from those who telephone us to help refine our future approach.”

HMRC has recently begun to check if tax is due from self-assessment taxpayers who have received state pension arrears. The work by HMRC is being done by a dedicated team with letters issuing from mid-April 2023. A copy of the letter is also being issued to authorised agents. HMRC will only collect income tax for 2023/24 and the previous four tax years. Taxpayers who died before the Department for Work and Pension (“DWP”) paid the arrears will not be charged tax. Since 2020, the DWP has been paying arrears of state pension to individuals who were underpaid with this work expected to continue until 2024.

In this week’s EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit. We also update you on recent developments in relation to the Retained EU Law Bill and the Trader Support Service has highlighted how HMRC are reviewing businesses with XI EORI number. The latest Trader Support Service and Borders Weekly Stakeholder Bulletins are also available. Retained EU Law Bill – update on Government Amendments  On Wednesday 10 May, we received the below update from the UK Domestic Advisory Group (“DAG”) secretariat in respect of the Retained EU Law Bill. Chartered Accountants Ireland is a member of the UK DAG. “We are writing to let you know that today the Government is tabling amendments to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the ‘REUL Bill’) at Lords’ Report stage alongside publishing an update on our plans for regulatory reform. This amendment has been tabled in response to the feedback from businesses and other organisations with an interest in Retained EU law during the Bill’s passage.  Alongside this, we are publishing a paper ‘Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy’ which is the first in a series of updates on how we are reforming sectors across the UK economy. It sets out an ambitious programme of reform to reduce our overall regulatory burden, maximise innovation and growth and support UK businesses and consumers. A copy of this report is available on gov.uk and can be found here.  REUL BILL AND PROGRAMME UPDATE  The ability for an independent UK to forge its own place in the world is one of the main reasons the country voted to leave the European Union. It is why the Government introduced the REUL Bill so that we could end the special status of retained EU law. It ensures that, for the first time in a generation, the UK’s statute book will not recognise the supremacy of EU law or EU legal principles. However, as the Bill is currently drafted, almost all REUL is automatically revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument is passed to preserve it.  The Government has already reformed or revoked over 1,000 pieces of REUL. In addition to the list of around 600 coming in the Bill, the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the Procurement Bill will repeal around 500 pieces of REUL. We are committed to lightening the regulatory burden on businesses and helping to spur economic growth, and our Edinburgh Reforms of UK financial services include over 30 regulatory reforms to unlock investment and boost growth in towns and cities across the UK.  Over the past year Whitehall departments have been working hard to identify REUL to preserve, reform or revoke. However, it has become clear that the default of retained EU law sunsetting at the end of this year unless it is preserved has forced departments to focus on which laws should be preserved, ahead of prioritising meaningful reform.  That is why today we are proposing a new approach: the Government is tabling an amendment that will replace the current sunset in the Bill with a list of all of the EU laws that we intend to revoke under the Bill at the end of 2023. This provides certainty for business and other organisations by making it clear which regulations will be removed from our statute book. We will retain the vitally important powers in the Bill that allow us to continue to amend REUL, so more complex regulation can still be revoked or reformed after proper assessment and consultation. This will ensure ministers and officials are freed up to focus more on reforming REUL and doing that faster.  Proposed reforms will, of course, be subject to the appropriate parliamentary scrutiny mechanisms, which will ensure that parliamentarians can scrutinise the use of the powers in the Bill throughout the lifetime of the programme. In particular, all SIs which significantly reform retained EU law will be subject to the affirmative procedure and will be debated by both Houses. SIs which reform retained EU law in any limited way, which revoke retained EU law, or which restate interpretive effects will be subject to the sifting procedure, the procedure which worked well for EU Exit SIs. This is a proven method of parliamentary oversight that draws on the experiences of our parliamentary committees.  REUL DASHBOARD  Today we have also updated the REUL Dashboard, which was first published on 22nd June 2022 and updated in January this year. The dashboard sets out for each piece of REUL its name, type and territorial extent. The Dashboard also provides an overview of the percentages of REUL which have already been amended, repealed or replaced. The data used to populate the dashboard will also be available to download via a file uploaded to our gov.uk page which can be found here.”  Miscellaneous updated guidance etc. The latest guidance updates, and publications relevant to EU exit are as follows:- Pay no import duties or VAT on importing goods for testing; Pay no import duty and VAT on importing commercial samples; Pay no import duty or VAT on donated medical equipment; Pay no Customs Duty or VAT on blood grouping, tissue typing and therapeutic substances; Pay no import duty or VAT when importing animals for scientific research; Apply for release of a private vessel on payment of Customs Duty and VAT (C384 (Vessels)); Check simplified procedure value rates for fresh fruit and vegetables; CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports; Tell HMRC if you still need your EORI number starting XI; and Search the register of customs agents and fast parcel operators.

The OECD has published its 2023 Progress Report on Tax Co-operation for the 21st Century. The report reflects on the implications of the evolving international tax policy landscape for international tax co-operation. It analyses how the principles set out in the 2022 Report are being incorporated by the members implementing the Two-Pillar Solution.

In Irish news, the Department of Finance publishes the April Exchequer results and Revenue publishes the latest statistics on the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme. In UK developments, Chartered Accountants Ireland met recently with HMRC to discuss its Making Tax Digital small business review and we remind you that the online VAT portal will close for annual VAT files from next Monday 15 May 2023.On the International front, the Advocate General recommends annulment of the European Commission’s decision that Luxembourg had granted unlawful State Aid. Ireland April Exchequer results show solid start to second quarter for tax receipts. Revenue has published preliminary statistics for the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) to 4 May 2023. UK Chartered Accountants Ireland meets HMRC to discusses Making Tax Digital small business review. Reminder: the online VAT return for VAT registered traders who file their VAT return annually will close from Monday 15 May 2023. International Advocate General recommends annulment of Commission’s decision that Luxembourg had granted unlawful State Aid. 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.