216F. Exemption of certain profits arising from production, maintenance and repair of certain musical instruments

(1) In this section—

“Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013¹ on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid;

“early Irish harp” means a harp instrument which is—

(a) traditionally referred to in the Irish language as ‘cruit’ or ‘cláirseach’ by reason of its characteristics and shape,

(b) traditionally played with the left hand above the right and with the fingernails,

(c) strung with 29 or 30 metal strings, that emerge through eyelets set in a solid soundboard which has been hollowed out from behind, which are held in place along the harmonic curve by the tuning and bridge pins, without a semitone lever system, and

(d) traditionally associated with a relevant musical practice;

“Irish lever harp” means a harp instrument which—

(a) is traditionally referred to in the Irish language as ‘cruit’ or ‘cláirseach’ by reason of its characteristics and shape,

(b) is traditionally played with the right hand above the left and with the tips or pads of the fingers,

(c) does not have pedals of any kind,

(d) is generally strung with not less than 34 but not more than 36 strings,

(e) has levers on its strings which can raise the note of a string by a semitone, and

(f) is traditionally associated with a relevant musical practice;

“relevant activities” means the production, maintenance or repair of relevant musical instruments;

“relevant musical instrument” means an early Irish harp, an Irish lever harp or uilleann pipes;

“relevant musical practice” means—

(a) the practice of uilleann piping, as inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity pursuant to Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 12.COM 11.B.16 of 7 December 2017, or

(b) the practice of Irish harping, as inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity pursuant to Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 14.COM 10.B.18 of 12 December 2019;

“relevant period” means the years of assessment 2023, 2024 and 2025;

“relevant person” means—

(a) in the case of early Irish harps and Irish lever harps, Harp Foundation Ireland Company Limited by Guarantee, a private company incorporated in the State with registration number 614434,

(b) in the case of uilleann pipes, Na Píobairí Uilleann Cuideachta Faoi Theorainn Ráthaíochta, a private company incorporated in the State with registration number 242874, or

(c) such other person with appropriate experience in relation to relevant musical instruments and relevant musical practice as the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media may designate in writing for the purposes of this section;

“relevant profit” means profits or gains from relevant activities;

“uilleann pipes” means a set of bagpipes which—

(a) has air supplied by a bellows that is operated by the elbow, and

(b) is traditionally associated with a relevant musical practice.

(2) This section applies to an individual who has, in the relevant period, relevant profits chargeable to income tax under Schedule D.

(3) (a) An individual to whom this section applies, and who duly makes a claim to the Revenue Commissioners in that behalf, shall, subject to paragraph (b), be entitled to have relevant profits arising to him or her disregarded during the relevant period for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(b) The amount of relevant profits which an individual shall be entitled to have disregarded for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts by virtue of paragraph (a) shall not exceed €20,000 in any year of assessment.

(c) The relief provided by this section may be given by repayment or otherwise.

(4) As respects the making of a return of income (being a return which a chargeable person, within the meaning of Part 41A, is required to deliver under Chapter 3 of that Part), the Tax Acts shall apply—

(a) as if subsection (3) had not been enacted,

(b) notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Part 41A, as if the individual to whom relevant profits arise for any year of assessment were, if such person would not otherwise be, a chargeable person (within the meaning of Part 41A) for that chargeable period,

(c) where an individual to whom relevant profits arise for any year of assessment is an individual to whom a notice under section 959N has been issued, as if such a notice had not been issued, and

(d) in so far as those Acts relate to the keeping of records (within the meaning of section 886) and the making available of such records for inspection, as if such profits or gains were chargeable to income tax.

(5) Where an individual to whom this section applies carries on a trade only part of the activities of which are relevant activities, then, for the purposes of this section, the profits of that trade shall be apportioned, on a just and reasonable basis, between those that are relevant profits and those that are not.

(6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 851A, where any question arises as to whether an instrument is a relevant musical instrument for the purposes of this section, the Revenue Commissioners may consult with a relevant person.

(7) (a) Where an individual to whom this section applies constitutes a single undertaking within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013, any relief provided by this section shall be available only insofar as it does not exceed the ceiling of aid laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013.

(b) An individual who avails of relief provided by this section shall be liable for the payment of any income tax in excess of the ceiling laid down as referred to in paragraph (a).

(c) An individual referred to in paragraph (a) shall—

(i) provide such information as may be reasonably required by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of ensuring compliance by the individual with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013, and

(ii) keep a record of any other information the Revenue Commissioners may deem to be necessary to ensure compliance by the individual with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013.

(d) Notwithstanding any obligation to maintain secrecy or any other restriction on the disclosure of information imposed by or under statute or otherwise, the Revenue Commissioners, or any other officer authorised by them for the purposes of this subsection, may—

(i) disclose to any board established by statute, any other public or local authority or any other agency of the State, information relating to the amount of relief claimed by a person under this section, being information, which is required by the relevant board, authority or agency concerned for the purpose of ensuring that the ceiling of aid in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013 is not exceeded, and

(ii) provide to the European Commission such information as may be requested by the European Commission in accordance with Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013.