Revenue Note for Guidance

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Revenue Note for Guidance

PART 10

Income Tax and Corporation Tax: Reliefs for Renewal and Improvement of Certain Urban Areas, Certain Resort Areas and Certain Islands

CHAPTER 1

Custom House Docks Area

Overview

This Chapter provided for a scheme of tax reliefs designed to encourage the development of the Custom House Docks Area of Dublin. Provision was made—

  • in section 323, for capital allowances in respect of capital expenditure incurred on the construction of certain commercial premises,
  • in section 324, for a double rent allowance in computing trading or professional income in respect of rent paid for the lease of certain industrial buildings or structures and certain commercial premises,
  • in sections 325, 326 and 327, respectively, for relief against rental income in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction of certain rented residential accommodation, the conversion of certain buildings into such accommodation and the refurbishment of multi-dwelling rented residential accommodation, and
  • in section 328, for relief to owner-occupiers in respect of expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of certain residential accommodation.
  • in section 329, for measures which were supplementary to sections 325, 326, 327 and 328.

The scheme is now terminated, in so far as the termination date for incurring qualifying expenditure or entering into qualifying leases has passed. However, claims in relation to qualifying expenditure incurred, or rent paid under qualifying leases entered into, before the termination date may continue to arise.

As part of the codification of legislation governing relief, under various tax incentive schemes, for expenditure incurred in relation to residential accommodation sections 325, 326, 327, 328 and 329 were repealed by section 24(3) Finance Act 2002. However, a saving provision in relation to these sections, which preserves title to relief for existing beneficiaries and Revenue’s right to withdraw relief in appropriate circumstances, is contained in Chapter 11 of this Part in section 372AV.

322 Interpretation (Chapter 1)

Summary

This section defines the terms “the Custom House Docks Area” and “the specified period” which are used in the Chapter. It also enabled the Minister for Finance to make orders extending the Custom House Docks Area beyond the boundaries of the area as set out in Schedule 5.

Details

Definitions

(1) & (4) “the Custom House Docks Area” is the area described in paragraph 2 of Schedule 5, and that Schedule applies for the purposes of supplementing this Chapter.

“the specified period” is the period from 25 January, 1988 to —

  • 24 January, 1999 in the case of the double rent allowance (section 324),
  • 31 December, 1999 in the case of the reliefs for residential accommodation (sections 325 to 328), and
  • 31 December, 1999 in the case of capital allowances for commercial premises (section 323) but, in any case where 51 per cent of the qualifying expenditure has been incurred by that date on a qualifying premises, the deadline extends to 30 June, 2000.

The specified period may be altered in relation to certain areas deemed to be part of the Custom House Docks Area by virtue of Ministerial order under subsection (2).

Ministerial orders extending Custom House Docks Area

(2) The section empowered the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, to direct by order that an area, which would not otherwise be within the definition of the Custom House Docks Area, is to be regarded as part of that Area. In relation to any area so prescribed by order, the Minister for Finance may also set down in the order the period which is to be treated as “the specified period” in relation to that area, but no such period may begin before 26 January, 1994 or end after the final dates for the various reliefs set down in the definition of “the specified period” in subsection (1).

(3) Orders made to designate areas as part of the Custom House Docks Area must be laid before Dáil Éireann in the normal way.

It is to be noted that a single order extending the area of the Customs House Docks Area for the purposes of this section and for the purposes of section 446 may be made under section 446(12).

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021