817REA. Revenue powers

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an authorised officer may, at all reasonable times, enter any premises or place of business of an intermediary or relevant taxpayer, for the purposes of enquiring into, and determining, whether information—

(a) included in a return made in accordance with section 817RC or 817RD, as appropriate, was correct and complete, or

(b) not included in such a return was correctly not so included.

(2) Where section 817RC(9)(b) applies to any information that was not included in a return made in accordance with section 817RC, any enquiry under subsection (1) shall be limited to the information relevant to the intermediary’s compliance with its obligations under section 817RC(10).

(3) Where an enquiry under subsection (1) is in respect of a cross-border arrangement that contains, or that an authorised DAC officer believes may contain, one or more specific hallmarks concerning automatic exchange of information and beneficial ownership, then such authorised DAC officer shall also have access to the mechanisms, procedures, documents and information referred to in—

(a) Articles 13, 30, 31^[2]>, 32a^<[2] and 40 of the AML Directive, and

(b) any provisions of the law of the State transposing the said Articles 13, 30, 31^[2]>, 32a^<[2] and 40.

(4) For the purposes of an enquiry referred to in subsection (3), an authorised DAC officer, in particular—

(a) shall have access to the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies, the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts^[3]> and the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts^<[3][3]>, the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts and the Central Mechanism of Ownership of Bank and Payment Accounts and Safe-Deposit Boxes, and^<[3]

(b) may, by notice in writing, require a designated person to deliver to the officer, within a period specified in the notice, such information (including copies of any relevant books, records or other documents) as is relevant to the compliance with any obligation imposed on the designated person by Chapter 3 of Part 4 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 and retained by that designated person under section 55 of that Act.

(5) For the purposes of a notice served under subsection (4)(b) the period to be specified in it shall not be less than 14 days.

(6) Where an authorised DAC officer—

(a) accesses any of the registers referred to in subsection (4)(a), the beneficial owner concerned shall be notified in writing by the authorised DAC officer of the access to the register—

(i) in a case where the identity of the beneficial owner concerned is known to the authorised DAC officer at the time the register is accessed, at that time or as soon as practicable thereafter, and

(ii) in any other case, as soon as practicable after the identity of the beneficial owner concerned becomes known to the authorised DAC officer,

or

(b) serves a notice under subsection (4)(b), the beneficial owner concerned shall be notified in writing by the authorised DAC officer of the service of the notice and of the name of the person upon whom it was served—

(i) in a case where the identity of the beneficial owner concerned is known to the authorised DAC officer at the time the notice is served, at that time or as soon as practicable thereafter, and

(ii) in any other case, as soon as practicable after the identity of the beneficial owner concerned becomes known to the authorised DAC officer.

(7) The Data Protection Act 2018 shall apply to the access that this section affords to an authorised DAC officer in respect of the information in the registers referred to in subsection (4)(a) and the information referred to in subsection (4)(b).

(8) On there being made of the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies, the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, Credit Unions and Unit Trusts^[4]> or the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts^<[4][4]>, the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts or, in the case of the Central Mechanism of Ownership of Bank and Payment Accounts and Safe-Deposit Boxes, the Central Bank of Ireland, and^<[4], as the case may be, by an authorised DAC officer, a request for access, in accordance with subsection (4)(a), to a register referred to in subsection (4)(a), the Registrar concerned shall afford the authorised DAC officer access, in a timely manner, to the register.

(9) An authorised DAC officer may require a designated person to provide any such additional information, explanations and particulars and to give all assistance to him or her which the authorised DAC officer may reasonably require for the purpose of inspecting the information delivered to him or her under subsection (4)(b).