Revenue Note for Guidance

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Revenue Note for Guidance

891J Return of certain information by Reporting Platform Operators

Summary

Section 891J provides for the transposition of the Model Rules for Reporting by Platform Operators with respect to Sellers in the Sharing and Gig Economy which were published by the OECD on 29 June 2020 and which were further extended by Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms: International Exchange Framework and Optional Module which were published by the OECD on 17 June 2021, commonly referred to as “Model Rules”.

Details

(1) The purpose of this section is to provide for the collection and reporting of certain information by reporting platform operators in respect of relevant activities undertaken by reportable sellers on their platforms.

Definitions

(2) The meaning of certain terms used in section 891J are defined as follows:

“active seller”, “additional activity”, “agreement in effect”, “consideration”, “entity”, “excluded seller”, “financial account identifier”, “goods”, “platform”, “platform operator”, “primary address”, “property listing”, “relevant activity”, “relevant service”, “reportable jurisdiction”, “reportable period”, “reportable seller”, “reporting platform operator”, “seller”, and “TIN”,

have the same meaning as in the Model Rules;

“excluded platform operator” means a platform operator registered under subsection (3) that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners under paragraph (d) of that subsection that the excluded platform operator is not a reporting platform operator to which subsections (4) and (5) apply;

“Model Rules” means the Model Rules for Reporting by Platform Operators with respect to Sellers in Sharing and Gig Economy approved by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on 29 June 2020 and the Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms: International Exchange Framework and Optional Module for Sale of Goods approved by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on 17 June 2021;

“partner jurisdiction” means any jurisdiction outside the State with which the State has an agreement or arrangement in effect under section 826(1B) pursuant to which the State may exchange on an automatic basis the information specified in subsection (5);

“Platform Operator ID” means a unique individual identification number that will be assigned to the platform operator by the Revenue Commissioners once it has registered with them for the purposes of section 891J;

“relevant information” is defined in subsection (7)(a).

Reportable platform operators

(3) Subsection (3) sets out the registration obligations of reporting platform operators.

(3)(a) A platform operator that -

  1. is resident in the State for tax purposes, or
  2. is not resident in the State or in any other jurisdiction but-
    1. is incorporated in the State,
    2. has a place of management in the State, or
    3. has a permanent establishment in the State,

shall register with the Revenue Commissioners as a reporting platform operator for the purposes of section 891J.

(3)(b) The Revenue Commissioners shall assign a Platform Operator ID to a platform operator referred to in paragraph (a)(ii)

(3)(c) A platform operator that meets one or more of the conditions of subsection (3)(a)(ii) and also satisfies those conditions in a partner jurisdiction may elect to register as a reporting platform operator with the competent authority of that partner jurisdiction. If that election is notified in writing to the Revenue Commissioners then that platform operator will not be required to register with the Revenue Commissioners also.

(3)(d) An excluded platform operator registered in the State shall, by 31 January of the year immediately after the end of the reportable period, make a return to the Revenue Commissioners

  • confirming that the excluded platform operator has not facilitated any relevant activities in the reportable period, and
  • providing any particulars that are necessary to demonstrate that the excluded platform operator is not a reportable platform operator.

(3)(e) A platform operator, that has registered as a reporting platform operator with the Revenue Commissioners under the provisions of subsection (3)(a)(ii), that does not comply with the obligations placed on it under the provisions of section 891J or regulations made under subsection (9), shall have the Platform Operator ID assigned to it by the Revenue Commissioners revoked.

(3)(f) A Platform Operator ID shall not be revoked by the Revenue Commissioners until

  1. two reminders, in writing, have been issued by the Revenue Commissioners to the platform operator advising the platform operator of the obligations imposed on them under the provisions of section 891J, and
  2. a period of 30 days has elapsed from the date the second reminder was issued.

(3)(g) Where a Platform Operator ID has been revoked by the Revenue Commissioners the Platform Operator ID will not be reinstated, or a new Platform Operator ID issued to the platform operator, until the platform operator demonstrates by way of documentary evidence and provides written assurances to the Revenue Commissioners that it will comply with the obligations imposed on it by this section, the regulations made under this section.

Return

(4) A reportable platform operator registered in the State for the purposes of section 891J shall, by 31 January of the year immediately after the end of the reportable period, make a return to the Revenue Commissioners.

A reportable platform operator is also obliged to provide the reportable seller with a copy of the information contained in the return made to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of the reportable seller.

Information to be included on the return

(5) Subsection (5) sets out the information that is to be included in return to be made under subsection (4).

(5)(a) The information to be included in the return in respect of a reporting platform operator is as follows:

(vi)

their name,

(vii)

their registered office address,

(viii)

their TIN,

(ix)

their Platform Operator ID, where one has been assigned by the Revenue Commissioners, and

(x)

the business name of each platform in respect of which the reporting platform operator is reporting.

(5)(b) The information to be included in the return in respect of reportable sellers who are individuals is as follows:

(vi)

their first and last name,

(vii)

their primary address,

(viii)

their TIN,

(ix)

the jurisdiction of issuance of the TIN, and

(x)

their date of birth.

(5)(c) The information to be included in the return in respect of reportable sellers who are reportable sellers who are is as follows:

(vii)

their legal name,

(viii)

their primary address,

(ix)

any TIN issued to each reportable seller, and where a reportable seller has a TIN issued by more than one jurisdiction, the jurisdiction of issuance of each TIN, and

(x)

their business registration number.

(5)(d) The following details are to be included in the return in respect of all reportable sellers:

(vi)

the total consideration paid or credited to them during each quarter of the reportable period along with the number of relevant activities,

(vii)

any fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the reporting platform operator during each quarter of the reportable period,

(viii)

their financial account identifier, if available,

(ix)

where different from the name of a reportable seller, the name of the holder of the financial account to which the consideration is paid or credited, to the extent available, as well as any other financial identification information available to the reporting platform operator, and

(x)

each jurisdiction in which each reportable seller is resident, as determined by the Model Rules.

(5)(e) Where the relevant activity of a reportable seller includes the rental of immovable property, in addition to the information required to be returned under subsections (5)(b), (5)(c) and (5)(d), the following information is also required:

(v)

the address of each property listing,

(vi)

the unique identifier(s), allocated under the Registration of Title Act 1964 to the land of each property listing, if available, or, where available, its equivalent under the law of the jurisdiction where it is located,

(vii)

the total consideration paid or credited during each quarter of the reportable period and the number of relevant activities provided with respect to each property listing, and

(viii)

the number of days each property listing was rented during the reportable period and the type of each property listing, where available.

The return should also contain all other information as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (9).

Reportable sellers

(6) A reporting platform operator shall put in place such procedures as may be prescribed in regulations made under subsection (10)(c) to identify when a seller becomes a reportable seller.

(7)(a) A seller, that is not an excluded seller, shall provide the reporting platform operator with the information (the ‘relevant information’) that is necessary for the reporting platform operator to comply with the reporting obligations imposed on them under subsection (5).

(7)(b) Where a reportable seller does not provide the relevant information to the reporting platform operator within the time period set out in subsection(7) (c)(ii) the platform operator shall-

  1. (7)(b)(i) either -
    1. withhold payment of consideration due to the reportable seller, or
    2. close the account of the reportable seller, and
  2. (7)(b)(ii) prevent the reportable seller from opening a new account with the reporting platform operator.

(7)(ba) Where a reporting platform operator has withheld payment of consideration under the provisions of subsection (7)(b)(i)(I) and the reportable seller still has not provided the relevant information within 24 months of the date referred to in subsection(7)(c)(ii) then the reporting platform operator shall

  • pay to the reportable seller any consideration withheld,
  • close the account of the reportable seller, and
  • prevent the reportable seller from reopening the account until the relevant information has been provided.

(7)(c) A reporting platform operator shall not close the account of a reportable seller or prevent the reportable seller from re-opening the account or opening a new account until

  1. two written reminders have been issued by the reporting platform operator to the reportable seller setting out the obligations placed on the reportable seller under section 891J, and
  2. a period of sixty days has passed from the date the second reminder referred to in subparagraph(i) was issued.

Appointment of a third party

(8) A reporting platform operator may, subject to the conditions relating to the appointment of a third party that may be contained in regulations made under this section appoint a third party to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on the reporting platform operator by this section.

Regulations

(9) The Revenue Commissioners are authorised to make regulations, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, to provide for the registration of platform operators with the Revenue Commissioners and specifying the information, regarding the relevant activities undertaken by reportable sellers on their platform, that is to be included in the return to be made by the reportable platform operators.

(10) Regulations to be made under subsection (9) shall:

(10)(a) Set out the period within which the requirements placed on platform operators by subsection (3) shall be satisfied.

(10)(b) Specify, in respect of a return required to be made under subsection (4):

  1. the manner in which the return is to be made,
  2. the currency in which the reporting platform operator is required to report, and
  3. the rules for the conversion of amounts, denominated in a currency other than the currency in which the return is to be made, into that currency, for the purposes of making a return under subsection (4).

(10)(c) Specify the procedures to be put in place by a reporting platform operator for the purposes of identifying when a seller becomes a reportable seller as required under subsection (6).

(10)(d) In respect of the requirements imposed on the platform operators by subsection 7(b) specify, where a platform operator-

  1. withholds payment of consideration under the provisions of subsection (7)(b)(i)(I),
  2. closes the account of a reportable seller and prevents the reportable seller from reopening the account under the provisions of subsection (7)(b)(i)(II) or subsection 7(ba),
  3. prevents a reportable seller from opening another account under the provisions of subsection (7)(b)(ii),
  4. pays any consideration under the provisions of subsection (7)(ba),

(10)(e) Specify the records and documents that are required to be provided by the reportable seller to the reporting platform operator in order for the reporting platform operator to comply with the reporting obligations imposed on them by subsections (5)(b), (5)(c), (5)(d) or (5)(e).

(10)(f) Specify the records, obtained by the reporting platform operator under the provisions of subsection 10(e), that are required to be retained by the reporting platform operator.

(10)(g) Provide that a third party may be appointed by a reporting platform operator to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on the reporting platform operator by section 891J or regulations made under section 891J.

(10)(h) Specify, in relation to any of the matters specified in subsections 10(a), 10(b), 10(c), 10(e), 10(f) and 10(g), the manner in which the records shall be kept and the period the records are to be retained as provided for in the Model Rules.

(10)(i) Regulations made under section 891J may contain any such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary to enable persons to fulfil their obligations under the regulations or for the general administration and implementation of the regulations.

Requirement to lay regulations before Dáil Éireann

(11) Every regulation made under section 891J must be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Authorised officer

(12) The Revenue Commissioners may authorise, in writing, any of their officers to exercise any powers to perform any acts or discharge any functions conferred by section 891J or by the regulations made under section 891J.

Audit

(13) An authorised officer may at all reasonable times enter any premises or place of business of a reporting platform operator for the purposes of-

(c)

determining whether information regarding a relevant activity -

(iii)

included in a return made under subsection (4) or regulations made under subsection (9) by the reporting platform operator was correct and complete, or

(iv)

which was not included in a return was correctly not included in the return,

(d)

examining the procedures put in place by the reporting platform operator for the purposes of ensuring compliance with that platform operator’s obligations under section 891I or regulations made under subsection (9).

(14) An authorised officer shall not, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling without a warrant authorising the entry.

District Court warrant

(15) A judge of the District Court, if satisfied on the sworn evidence of an “authorised officer” that

(c)

there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that information or records, that the “authorised officer” may require for the purposes of his or her functions under this section, is or are held on any premises or part of any premises, or

(d)

the “authorised officer”, in the performance of his or her functions under this section, has been prevented from entering the premises or any part of the premises,

may issue a warrant authorising the “authorised officer”, accompanied by other persons if necessary, to enter, if needs be by reasonable force, at any time or times within 30 days from the date of issue of the warrant and on production of the warrant if so requested, the premises or part of the premises concerned and perform all or any of the functions conferred on the authorised officer under this section.

Penalties

(16)(a) The provisions of Section 898O shall apply to

(iii)

a failure by a reporting platform operator to make a return required under subsection (4) or regulations made under this subsection (9), and

(iv)

the making of an incorrect or incomplete return under subsection (4) or regulations made under subsection (9),

as it applies to a failure to deliver a return or to the making of an incorrect or incomplete return referred to in section 898O.

The penalty for the failure to make a return or for making an incomplete or incorrect return under section 898O is €19,045. A further penalty of €2,535 also applies for each day a return remains outstanding.

(16)(b) A penalty of €1,265 will not apply to a platform operator under paragraph (a) where-

  1. the platform operator made an incorrect return solely due to the failure by a reportable seller to provide the relevant information under subsection 7(a), and
  2. the platform operator has complied with the procedures set out in subsection 7(b) and subsection 7(ba) and in any regulations made under subsection 10(d) with respect to that failure by that reportable seller.

(16)(c) A penalty of €1,265 will apply to a person who does not comply with-

  1. the requirements of a Revenue officer in the exercise or performance of the officer’s powers or duties under this section or regulations made under subsection (9), or
  2. any requirement of the regulations made under subsection (9).

(17) Subsection (17) is an anti-avoidance provision and provides that where arrangements are entered into by any person and the main purpose or one of the main purposes of the arrangements is the avoidance of any of the obligations imposed by section 891J or the regulations made under subsection (9), then the section and the regulations shall apply as if those arrangements had not been entered into.

(18) A word or expression which is used in section 891J or in regulations made under subsection (9) and which is also used in the Model Rules has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this section or in those regulations as it has in the Model Rules.

Interaction with section 888 and section 890 TCA 1997

(19) In order to avoid double reporting of information by the reportable platform operator the provisions of sections 888 and 890 TCA 1997 shall not apply to a reportable platform operator where that reportable platform operator has fulfilled their obligations under section 891J and regulations made under subsection (9).

Interaction with DAC7 reporting

(20) Where a return has been made under section 891I [a “DAC7” return] by a reporting platform operator in respect of reportable seller and relevant activity then a return under the provisions of section 891J is not also required to be made by the reporting platform operator in respect of the reportable seller and relevant activity. This is to ensure that the information is not reported to the Revenue Commissioners twice.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2024