Finance Act 2013
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Amendment of Chapter 3 (other obligations and returns) of Part 38 of Principal Act. |
32.— Chapter 3 of Part 38 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 891D: | |
“Implementation of the Agreement to Improve Tax Compliance and Provide for Reporting and Exchange of Information concerning Tax Matters (United States of America) Order 2013. | ||
891E.— (1) This section applies for the purpose of implementing the Agreement to Improve Tax Compliance and Provide for Reporting and Exchange of Information concerning Tax Matters (United States of America) Order 2013 ( S.I. No. 33 of 2013 ). | ||
(2) For the purposes of this section and the regulations made under this section— | ||
‘Agreement’ means the Agreement Between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA done at Dublin on 21 December 2012; | ||
‘competent authority’ means the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America or his or her delegate; | ||
‘register’ means to register with such body of persons, agency or authority as is specified in regulations under this section for the purpose; | ||
‘registered financial institution’ means a financial institution that has registered in accordance with the regulations; | ||
‘tax reference number’ means a U.S. TIN. | ||
(3) Except where otherwise provided by this section or the regulations made under this section and unless the context otherwise requires, a word or expression used in this section or in the regulations (or in both) that is used in the Agreement shall have the same meaning as it has in the Agreement. | ||
(4) The Revenue Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may make regulations under this section— | ||
(a) requiring financial institutions to register in circumstances specified in the regulations (whether by reference to the institution concerned falling within a category specified in the regulations or the existence otherwise of circumstances in which the regulations require the institution concerned to register), | ||
(b) with respect to the return by a registered financial institution of information on accounts held, managed or administered by that financial institution (being accounts falling within a category specified in the regulations or that are otherwise specified therein as accounts to be the subject of such a return), and | ||
(c) with respect to the return by a registered financial institution of information on payments made to a non-participating financial institution (being payments falling within a category specified in the regulations or that are otherwise specified therein as payments to be the subject of such a return). | ||
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4), regulations under this section may include provisions— | ||
(a) specifying the time limits within which financial institutions must register, | ||
(b) requiring registered financial institutions to make a return of information in relation to U.S. reportable accounts, | ||
(c) setting out the circumstances in which a registered financial institution is not required to make a return, | ||
(d) setting out the circumstances in which financial institutions shall be treated as non-participating financial institutions, | ||
(e) determining the date by which a return required to be made under the regulations shall be made to the Revenue Commissioners, | ||
(f) prescribing the manner in which returns are to be made, | ||
(g) specifying the accounts that are not treated as financial accounts, | ||
(h) specifying the financial accounts that are U.S. reportable accounts, | ||
(i) specifying the information to be reported in a return by the registered financial institution, to the Revenue Commissioners, in relation to U.S. reportable accounts and, where different information is to be reported for different years, specifying the information to be reported for each of those years, | ||
(j) specifying— | ||
(i) the currency in which the registered financial institution is required to report, and | ||
(ii) the rules for conversion of amounts, denominated in another currency, into the currency, referred to in subparagraph (i), for the purposes of a return under the regulations, | ||
(k) requiring financial institutions to identify the financial accounts that are held by U.S. persons who fall within a category specified in the regulations or who are otherwise persons the financial accounts held by whom are specified by the regulations to be the subject of such identification, | ||
(l) specifying the records and documents that must be examined or obtained by the financial institution to enable the institution to identify the financial accounts that are held by U.S. persons who fall within a category specified in the regulations or who are otherwise specified by the regulations as persons in relation to whom the foregoing action in this paragraph must be taken, and, where different records or documents must be examined or obtained in different circumstances, specifying those circumstances, | ||
(m) specifying additional requirements in relation to high value accounts that are held by U.S. persons who fall within a category specified in the regulations or who are otherwise persons the high value accounts held by whom are specified by the regulations to be the subject of such additional requirements, | ||
(n) specifying the records and documents used to identify the holder of a U.S. reportable account that must be retained by the registered financial institution, | ||
(o) specifying the financial accounts in respect of which the financial institution is not required to identify the account holder, | ||
(p) setting out the circumstances in which a registered financial institution is required to aggregate financial accounts held by the same individual or entity for the purposes of reporting information on those accounts, | ||
(q) specifying the actions to be taken by a registered financial institution where there is a change in circumstances with respect to the holder of a financial account, | ||
(r) setting out the conditions under which a financial institution may appoint a third party as its agent to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on it by the regulations, | ||
(s) setting out the circumstances in which an account held by an NFFE will be a U.S. reportable account, | ||
(t) setting out the circumstances in which a registered financial institution may make a nil return, | ||
(u) specifying the information to be reported by the registered financial institution in relation to payments made to non-participating financial institutions, | ||
(v) imposing an obligation on— | ||
(i) a financial institution to obtain a tax reference number from persons, being persons who fall within a category specified in the regulations or who are otherwise specified by the regulations as persons in relation to whom the foregoing action in this paragraph must be taken and— | ||
(I) with whom the institution enters into a contractual relationship, or | ||
(II) for whom the institution undertakes any transaction, | ||
on or after a date specified in the regulations, which shall not be earlier than the commencement of the regulations (and such persons are in this paragraph referred to as ‘customers’) for the purposes of including that number in a return under the regulations, and | ||
(ii) customers to provide a financial institution with their tax reference number on request by the financial institution where, on or after a date specified in the regulations— | ||
(I) such customers enter into a contractual relationship with the financial institution, or | ||
(II) the financial institution undertakes any transaction for such customers, | ||
being respectively— | ||
(A) a relationship which resultsin the opening, operation, administration or management of a financial account, or | ||
(B) a transaction which arisesin relation to a financial account, | ||
(w) defining ‘books’ and ‘records’ for the purposes of the regulations, | ||
(x) in relation to any of the matters specified in the preceding paragraphs, determining the manner of keeping records and setting the period for the retention of records so kept, | ||
(y) enabling the authorisation of Revenue officers, for the purpose of such officers— | ||
(i) requiring— | ||
(I) the production of books, records or other documents, | ||
(II) the provision of information, explanations and particulars, and | ||
(III) persons to give all such assistance as may reasonably be required and as is specified in the regulations, | ||
in relation to financial accounts within such time as may be specified in the regulations, and | ||
(ii) making extracts from or copies of books, records or other documents or requiring that copies of such books, records and documents be made available, | ||
and | ||
(z) specifying such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary— | ||
(i) to enable persons to fulfill their obligations under the regulations, or | ||
(ii) for the general administration and implementation of the regulations, including— | ||
(I) delegating to a Revenue officer the authority to perform any acts and discharge any functions authorised by this section or the regulations to be performed or discharged by the Revenue Commissioners, and | ||
(II) the authorisation by the Revenue Commissioners of Revenue officers to exercise any powers, to perform any acts or to discharge any functions conferred by this section or by the regulations. | ||
(6) Every regulation made under this section shall 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 prejudiceto the validity of anything previously done thereunder. | ||
(7) A Revenue officer authorised for the purpose of regulations under this section may at all reasonable times enter any premises or place of business of a financial institution for the purposes of— | ||
(a) determining whether information— | ||
(i) included in a return made under the regulations by the financial institution was correct and complete, or | ||
(ii) not included in such a return was correctly not so included, | ||
or | ||
(b) examining the procedures put in place by the financial institution for the purposes of ensuring compliance with that institution’s obligations under the regulations. | ||
(8) (a) Section 898O shall apply to— | ||
(i) a failure by a financial institution to deliver a return required under regulations under this section, and | ||
(ii) the making of an incorrect or incomplete return under those regulations, | ||
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. | ||
(b) A person who does not comply with— | ||
(i) the requirements of a Revenue officer in the exercise or performance of the officer’s powers or duties under this section or under regulations made under this section, or | ||
(ii) any requirement of such regulations, | ||
shall be liable to a penalty of €1,265. | ||
(9) Section 4 of the Post Office Savings Bank Act 1861 shall not apply to the disclosure of information required to be included in a return made under the regulations made under this section and, accordingly, this section shall apply to information to which, but for this subsection, the said section 4 would apply. | ||
(10) (a) Notwithstanding section 851A, the Revenue Commissioners are authorised to communicate to the competent authority information which is contained in a return required under regulations under this section. | ||
(b) The Revenue Commissioners shall communicate the information referred to in paragraph (a) to the competent authority not later than the expiry of 9 months following the end of the tax year in which the return is received. | ||
(11) Where arrangements are entered into by any person and the main purpose or one of the main purposes of the arrangements, or any part of them, is the avoidance of any of the obligations imposed under this section or regulations thereunder, then this section and those regulations shall apply as if the arrangements, or that part of them, had not been entered into.”. |