Last week, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach (“the Joint Committee”) published its report following the conclusion of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill 2024. The Institute gave evidence in March as part of this process where we expressed our unequivocal support for the right to elect for a private hearing at the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC). We also outlined our grave concerns that the proposals would risk undermining the spirit of voluntary compliance that underscores our entire self-assessment model. We were invited to give evidence following our earlier submission to the Joint Committee in December of last year.The main recommendation of the Joint Committee to the Tánaiste (in his capacity as Minister of Finance) is to preserve the existing right of the taxpayer to request a private hearing at the TAC. In Section 2 of the report under the heading “Recommendations”, it states that the Joint Committee “strongly recommends that the Minister for Finance makes no change to the existing provisions in respect of public or private TAC hearings”. As part of this, the Joint Committee has also recommended assessing the degree to which the proposals would make the Irish tax system more punitive compared to our European peers. The Joint Committee has also made a series of secondary recommendations, which include requests for further clarification on broader constitutional and procedural concerns should the Tánaiste progress the proposals in their current iteration. These secondary recommendations regarding the matter of taxpayer privacy are as follows:Significant clarifying detail should be provided in relation to the criteria which would determine when an Appeals Commissioner would grant a private hearing.The Department of Finance should explore how the default constitutional requirement for public hearings could be satisfied while also preserving taxpayer privacy.An alternative dispute resolution mechanism should be introduced which would precede recourse to the TAC.The Joint Committee has also made additional recommendations in relation to the following matters:Addressing concerns around the publication of the appellants’ details and whether this is a proportionate interference with their privacy rights.Addressing the risk that determinations might disclose information which would be deemed private in other contexts.Introducing a requirement making it mandatory for evidence to be given under an oath or affirmation. Addressing concerns about the financial resources of the TAC,  when compared to appellants with substantially more financial resources.Mandating the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to produce official fiscal forecasts and expanding their endorsement function to policy costings. The Institute will continue engaging with government and other stakeholders throughout the summer as this matter continues to progress through the Oireachtas.

HMRC has asked us to share the below message about a growing area of confusion affecting some VAT‑registered businesses and their agents. HMRC is increasingly seeing VAT returns incorrectly submitted after the statutory due date when the 7th of the month falls on a weekend. In these cases, some taxpayers (or their agents) are relying on third‑party websites and AI which erroneously state that HMRC allows VAT returns to be submitted on the next working day if the statutory deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Unfortunately, this is incorrect and is resulting in late returns and late payments which is leading to late submission penalty points and late payment penalties.  HMRC is planning to share more information on this in May’s Agent Update but has asked us to share the below ahead of this.  “Key messages  An increasing number of businesses and agents are submitting late VAT returns where the statutory due date falls on the weekend. They incorrectly think that the return can be submitted on the next working day. This is incorrect and results in late submission points or penalties. VAT return submission deadlines are fixed in law and do not move when they fall on a weekend. VAT returns can be submitted at weekends. If a business cannot submit at the weekend, it should submit before the due date. Agents should review any of their external guidance or website content and correct it where it suggests that VAT returns can be submitted on the next working day.”The Institute reiterates the importance of members and businesses ensuring they only utilise reliable sources of information when assisting taxpayers with compliance work. Filing tax and VAT returns late based on erroneous information and guidance not only results in the taxpayer incurring penalties and interest, but it also damages the client relationship and undermines the important role that tax agents play in driving compliance with UK tax legislation. 

A new Directive aimed to harmonise certain aspects of insolvency rules within the EU has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and is now in force. These new rules aim to make the EU more attractive to cross-border investors by reducing the difficulty of differing national insolvency rules. Each Member States has until 22 January 2029 to transpose the Directive into national law.

The European Commission have issued a call for views on draft delegated regulation for the VSME. Companies in the value chain of a company subject to mandatory sustainability requirements often face requests for information from their reporting business partner. These value-companies include those with fewer than 1 000 employees on average during the financial year. This initiative aims to help value-chain companies and companies not subject to mandatory sustainability reporting requirements disclose sustainability-related information, thereby reducing their reporting burden.The consultation period is 4 weeks and responses are due by 3 June. Commission adoption is planned by the end of Q2 2026. 

The European Commission have issued a call for views on the draft regulation for the Revised ESRS. The adoption of the revised European sustainability reporting standards represents a significant step towards simplifying sustainability reporting across the EU. Companies that remain within scope will benefit from clearer and more streamlined requirements, helping to reduce compliance burdens and costs while maintaining key policy objectives. The consultation period is 4 weeks and responses are due by 3 June. Commission adoption is planned by the end of Q2 2026. 

The Institute has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements 2025. The report can be accessed here.The report reflects on the first full year of Strategy27 which sets out the Institute's three strategic priorities:Educating: Inspiring the next generation of finance professionalsLeading: Guiding our members through changeDelivering for members: Supporting trusted business leaders.The report is published in advance of the Institute's AGM which takes place on Friday 29 May 2026.

In Irish news, Revenue has published its service delivery report for the first quarter of 2026, and the Visual Effects Uplift has been approved by the European Commission.  In UK news, HMRC has released further guidance on the new mandatory tax adviser registration which commences from 18 May 2026, and we remind readers that 31 May 2026 is the 2025/26 P60 deadline. In International news, the OECD publishes the Global Minimum Tax Implementation Toolkit.Ireland1. Revenue has released its Q1 2026 service delivery report, providing data and insights on real-time reporting. 2. The European Commission has approved the Visual Effects (VFX) Uplift for the Film Tax Credit.UK3. Read our reminder that mandatory tax adviser registration will commence from 18 May 2026.4. 31 May 2026 is the deadline for employers to distribute the 2025/26 P60s.International5. The Global Minimum Tax Implementation Toolkit has recently been published by the OECD.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. You can also read this week’s Cross-border developments and trading corner.  

Ahead of mandatory tax adviser registration (MTAR) commencing in two weeks’ time from 18 May 2026, HMRC has published further guidance on GOV.UK which focuses on the sanctions which HMRC have under this legislation. The Institute will be launching a guidance page on its website in the coming weeks to help members prepare for and implement this significant change. In the meantime readers should read previous articles in Chartered Accountants Tax News on MTAR from February 2026, March 2026, and in the February 2026 edition of tax.point.Members are advised to begin their preparations now for MTAR. Tax adviser firms should act as soon as possible to:Familiarise themselves with the legislation and monitor and assess HMRC guidance and information as and when it is published. This may necessitate appointing a specific team of individuals within the firm who will be responsible for implementing the legislation and ensuring it is complied with both at the time of registration and in the future,Identify who their relevant individuals are and how many the rules require them to include in their application,Determine their registration timeline,Audit, check, and document whether or not the firm and all relevant individuals meet the registration conditions and take remedial action where necessary, andEnsure that the risk of suspension/prohibition, including the impact of this on their clients, and how this would be managed is built into the firm’s contingency planning. The newly published sanctions guidance is as follows:What happens if you interact with HMRC when you are unregistered or suspended as a tax adviser, and If you disagree with HMRC's decision about your tax adviser registration.These pages complement previous guidance which is as follows:Who needs to register and by which date, andThe registration conditions tax advisers need to abide by.HMRC is working on publishing additional guidance, including a technical manual and an interactive tool to help agents check whether they need to register. These are expected to be published ahead of commencement on 18 May. 

The deadline for employers to provide employees with their P60 for 2025/26, either on paper or electronically, is Sunday 31 May 2026. The P60 summarises the employee’s total pay and deductions for the year. By that date, employers must give a P60 to all employees on payroll who were working for them on the last day of the tax year (5 April 2026). If an employer is exempt from filing payroll online, copies of P60s can be ordered from HMRC.  

Last month we asked members to share their views on two open consultations which will affect companies. Today we are issuing a reminder that the deadline for sharing your feedback is Friday 8 May 2026.

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, HMRC has published guidance on completing a new CT600 supplementary return form for claiming creative industries tax reliefs or expenditure credits, the national insurance replacement credits service has been delayed until April 2027, and HMRC has established a new stakeholder working group for the implementation of Pillar Two.In addition to the above, readers should also note the following:The latest HMRC Stakeholder Digest is available, in addition to the second quarterly update on the work of HMRC’s Tax Administration Reform for Compliance team,A new calculator has been published to deal with calculating the hybrid rate of writing down allowances in the main pool which reduced from 18 per cent 14 percent on 1 April 2026 for Corporation Tax and 6 April 2026 for Income Tax. The calculator can be used when a business has an accounting period straddling the date that this rate reduced,The minutes from the February 2026 meeting of HMRC’s Guidance Strategy Forum have been published,The latest schedule of HMRC Talking Points live and recorded webinars for tax agents are available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place, and finally,Check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. Creative industries tax reliefs: new supplementary CT600 return formFrom 6 April 2026, companies claiming creative industries tax reliefs or expenditure credits must include the new CT600P supplementary return form pages when submitting their CT600 corporation tax return. HMRC has also published guidance on how the complete these pages. HMRC is also aware of an ongoing validation issue with the CT600P and has therefore advised that this will not be fixed until April 2027. As result guidance is available on what to do in corporation tax returns which are submitted before then.National insurance replacement credits service delayedThe national insurance replacement credits service has been delayed until April 2027. According to HMRC, most eligible parents and carers will not be affected by the delay to the service and will still be able to apply for credits when the service opens next April 2027.Anyone who believes they will suffer a financial loss due to this delay can check their position with HMRC. If there is a financial loss, the individual can report it to HMRC by following the HMRC complaints process. Guidance has also been published on how to report a financial loss.New HMRC Pillar Two stakeholder working groupAs part of the Government’s commitment set out in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain an open and collaborative approach to tax policymaking, HMRC, in partnership with HM Treasury, is establishing a formal stakeholder working group on the UK’s implementation of the Pillar Two Global Minimum Tax. This working group will create a structured forum for stakeholders to contribute practical insights and discuss wider technical matters relevant to the design and operation of the regime. The aim of this collaboration is also to help identify solutions that support clarity, reduce uncertainty, and ensure the rules operate as intended.  Further details on the scope and operation of the working group are available on GOV.UK. If you are interested in joining the working group, please email pillar2workinggroup@hmrc.gov.uk with the names and email addresses of up to two individuals you would like to nominate as delegates. At present one of the Government’s main priorities is to introduce the side-by-side package into UK domestic legislation. As part of this the Government will be consulting on the draft legislation with members of the Pillar Two working group.Technical queries seeking HMRC’s view on how the legislation applies should continue to be sent to pillar2mailbox@hmrc.gov.uk and to the relevant Customer Compliance Manager (CCM) if the group has one.

In this week’s cross-border trading corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. The House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee has sought further information from the Government on the impact of the EU’s plans to remove customs duty relief from low-value parcels entering the EU and to introduce a handling fee for goods ordered directly from non-EU countries.Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee seeks information on EU’s customs duty plansLast month, the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee published a letter it received from Lord Livermore, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in which he estimated that  75-85 percent of parcels moved between GB and Northern Ireland do so using either the UK Carrier Scheme, or the UK Internal Market Scheme. This means that they would be exempt from any customs duty charged as a result of changes by the EU which will remove the duty relief for small parcels (valued at or under £135/€150) and the EU’s proposals to introduce a €2 handling fee from 1 November 2026.  The Committee Chairperson subsequently responded to this letter asking for an assessment of the impacts on businesses and consumers for small parcels not covered by the UK Carrier Scheme or the UK Internal Market Scheme and on how the Government will minimise those impacts. Further information was also requested on planned engagement with industry stakeholders. In the November 2025 Autumn Budget the UK Government announced that from March 2029 at the latest it will be removing customs duty relief on low value imports entering the UK. It subsequently consulted on the design of new customs arrangements relating to low value imports which closed in March 2026. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publicationsThis week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows:External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service,National additional codes to declare with Data Element 6/17 of the Customs Declaration Service,Tax types for Data Element 4/3 of the Customs Declaration Service,Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS),Pay for imports declared using the Customs Declaration Service,CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Exports,Additional Information (AI) Statement Codes for Data Element 2/2 of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS),CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports,Appendix 2: DE 1/11: Additional Procedure Codes of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS),Appendix 22: Declaration Category Data Sets Landing Page and Introductory Text,CDS BIRDS Declarations and Customs Clearance Request completion instructions,Appendix 2: DE 1/11: Additional Procedure Codes,Appendix 1: DE 1/10: Requested and Previous Procedure Codes,Making an import declaration in your records, andReport a problem using the Customs Declaration Service.