1056 Penalty for false statement made to obtain allowance

Summary

This section gives details of the penalties applying to a person who knowingly makes a false statement, etc relative to the person’s own income tax or corporation tax affairs or who knowingly and wilfully assists another person to do the same in respect of that other person’s income tax or corporation tax affairs.

Details

(1) The term “the specified difference” means the difference between —

• a person’s income tax liability as disclosed for a tax year (or corporation tax liability as disclosed for an accounting period), and
• the amount which would have been payable had the statement or representation not been false, had the account, return, list, declaration or statement not been false or fraudulent, or had the full amount of income been disclosed.

The penalties under this section apply to —

• (2)(a) a person who knowingly makes a false statement or representation in relation to the person’s own income tax (or corporation tax) in a return, statement or declaration or for the purposes of obtaining an allowance, reduction, rebate or repayment of tax,
• (2)(b) a person who knowingly and wilfully aids, abets, assists, incites or induces another person in relation to that other person’s income tax (or corporation tax) —
  • to make or deliver a false or fraudulent account, return, list, declaration or statement in relation to property, profits or gains or tax, or
  • unlawfully to avoid liability to tax by failing to disclose the full amount of that other person’s income from all sources.

(3) A person found guilty of an offence under this section is liable to the following sliding scale of fines, etc —

(4) By virtue of the application of sections 1078(4) and (6) to (8) (with any necessary modifications) for the purposes of this section —

• the maximum fines and terms of imprisonment under this section are not affected by the lesser maximum fine and lower maximum prison terms allowed under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 where a person pleads guilty in the District Court to an indictable offence,
• a return or statement delivered to an inspector or a Revenue official and purporting to be signed by a person is deemed to have been so delivered and to have been signed by that person unless the contrary is proved,
• proceedings may not be taken more than 10 years after the alleged offence was committed or the penalty incurred, and
• section 1 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907 which allows a court, in dealing with a proven offence, to dismiss the charge or conditionally discharge the offender will not apply to an offence under this section.

(5) A prosecution may not be taken under this section in relation to a declaration to the Chief Special Collector under section 2 or 3 of the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act, 1993 (the amnesty legislation) solely because a false statement or representation has been made relative to income or chargeable gains in respect of which income tax or capital gains tax is due or to value added tax in arrears.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2021