120. Regulations

Summary

This section gives power to Revenue to make regulations for the administration of the tax. The matters to be dealt with by regulation include registration, collection, recovery, refunds and remissions, the disclosure of information for the ascertainment of liability, the keeping of accounts and records, the information to be given on invoices and related documents, and other matters incidental to the care and management of the tax.

Details

(1) The Revenue Commissioners have a general power to enable them to make regulations to discharge their functions. Specific issues that may be covered by regulations are listed in subsections (2) to (16).

(2) Regulations on accountable persons (Part 2) may cover elections, cancellations (including tax clawback) as well as treating a person as not accountable.

(3) Regulations on taxable transactions (Part 3) may cover self-supply of services for business purposes.

(4) Regulations on place of taxable transactions (Part 4) may cover elections to register under the distance sales rules for persons below the threshold levels.

(5) Regulations on taxable amount (Part 5) may cover adjusting tax liability when goods are returned, the price is cut, a bad debt occurs or a discount is allowed. They may also cover making determinations and non-business use of business assets.

(6) Regulations on rates and exemption (Part 6) may cover apportionment for composite and multiple supplies, categorisation of such supplies as composite, ancillary, etc., de minimis amounts not counted in applying the composite/multiple rules and determinations on tax rates.

(7) Regulations on imports, exports, etc. (Part 7) may cover repayment of import VAT. They may also cover relieving classes of registered persons (defined in the regulation) from the obligation to pay tax at importation and providing that the tax be accounted for in the return for the period in question.

This section also provides that the Revenue Commissioners may make regulations which set out the requirements which an accountable person must comply with in order to use the system of postponed accounting contained in section 53A and provides that the Revenue Commissioners may impose conditions or restrictions as regards all steps leading to the accounting for tax under section 53A, including ensuring that the necessary capability exists on the part of the accountable person to account for tax in this way. The Revenue Commissioners may include in regulations a condition that requires certain documents to be provided to them where it appears requisite for the protection of the revenue.

This section also enables the Revenue Commissioners to specify certain particulars to be included in an application for authorisation under section 56 and specifies certain particulars which may be required as part of the regulations governing an application for authorisation under section 56. This section enables the Revenue Commissioners to specify the form and manner in which particulars are to be provided as part of an application under section 56.

(8) Regulations on deductions (Part 8) may cover deductions for intra-Community acquisitions, deductions for residual tax in connection with transfer of business to another Member State, deductions for qualifying vehicles, the operation of the capital goods scheme, apportionments (and adjustments to apportionments), adjustments in relation to unpaid consideration and relief for stock-in-trade held when a person first becomes accountable.

(9) Regulations on accountable persons’ obligations (Part 9) may cover registrations for VAT, invoices and other documents, evidence of business controls with regard to invoicing, returns and tax payable, etc. for new means of transport other than motor vehicles. They may also cover matters relating to the moneys received basis of accounting, VIES statements for intra-Community supplies of goods, and records (including records on investment gold).

(10) Regulations on special schemes (Part 10) may cover the margin schemes for taxable dealers (including aggregate margin calculations), travel agents and auctioneers. They may also cover the special schemes for investment gold and for telecommunications services, radio or television broadcasting services and electronically supplied services under the non-Union scheme or the Union scheme.

(11) Regulations on immovable goods (Part 11) may cover waivers, valuation of interests and specification of circumstances where development is not treated as being to the benefit of a person.

(12) Regulations on refunds (Part 12) may cover the general entitlement to refund of excess tax paid, repayments of residual tax in relation to new means of transport dispatched to another Member State and interest payments.

(13) Regulations on administration and general issues (Part 13) may cover the nomination of officers, recovery of tax, disclosure, remission of tax, death of registered persons and the serving of notices.

(13A) Regulations on Schedule 1 (exempt activities) may cover education and vocational training (paragraph 4(3)).

(14) Regulations on Schedule 2 (zero-rated goods and services) may cover imports (paragraph 2(1)), the determination of children’s sizes (paragraphs 10(1) and 10(2)), matters relating to exports and international trade (paragraph 3(1) and 7(3)) and intra-Community transactions (paragraph 1(1)).

(15) Regulations on Schedule 3 or Schedule 5 may cover the circumstances, terms and conditions under which a letting of immovable goods constitutes a letting in the guest or holiday sector or accommodation constitutes guest or holiday accommodation for the purposes of paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 the circumstances, terms and conditions under which a letting of immovable goods constitutes a letting in the guest or holiday sector or accommodation constitutes guest or holiday accommodation for the purposes of paragraph 11 of Schedule 3; or matters relating to antiques (paragraph 24 of Schedule 3 or paragraph 3 of Schedule 5).

(16) Differentiation is provided for in so far as procedures are concerned. This means that the regulations may differentiate between the various classes of activities in respect of which tax is chargeable.

(17) Regulations under certain specified sections will not be made without the consent of the Minister. These cover:

• Modifications to Customs laws (section 53(3))
• Remitting or repaying tax chargeable on goods to be exported or services related thereto (section 57)
• Remitting or repaying tax chargeable on goods shipped on boats/planes to a place outside the State, or on goods used in commercial sea-fishing (section 104(4))
• Remitting or repaying tax chargeable on services related to the preceding item (section 104(5))
• Tax on imports (subsection (7)(b) and (c))
• Average build, foot size for children (subsection (14)(d) or (e))
• Short-term lettings (subsection (15)(a)).

(18) Revenue may also make regulations containing such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as are necessary to give full effect to Council Directive No. 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986 (the 13^th VAT Directive), the VAT Directive and Council Directive No. 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008.

(19) Regulations must be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as they are made.

Relevant Date: Finance Act 2020