Finance Act 2021
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Amendment of Part 38 of Principal Act (returns of income and gains, other obligations and returns, and Revenue powers) | ||
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82. (1) Part 38 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 891H: | ||
“Implementation of Article 1(8) of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to platform operators | ||
891I. (1) This section provides for the collection and reporting of certain information by reportable platform operators in respect of relevant activities undertaken by reportable sellers on their platforms. | ||
(2) In this section— | ||
‘business registration number’ means a unique business identification number issued by a Member State, or a functional equivalent in the absence of a business identification number; | ||
‘consideration’, ‘entity’, ‘excluded platform operator’, ‘financial account identifier’, ‘goods’, ‘platform’, ‘platform operator’, ‘primary address’, ‘property listing’, ‘qualified non-union platform operator’, ‘relevant activity’, ‘reportable period’, ‘reportable seller’, ‘reporting platform operator’, ‘seller’, ‘TIN’, and ‘VAT identification number’ have the meanings respectively given to them by Section I of Annex V to the Directive; | ||
‘Directive’ means Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 201143 as amended by Council Directive 2014/107/EU of 9 December 201444 , Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 201545 , Council Directive (EU) 2016/881 of 25 May 201646 , Council Directive (EU) 2016/2258 of 6 December 201647 , Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 201848 , Council Directive (EU) 2020/876 of 24 June 202049 and Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 202150 ; | ||
‘Platform Operator ID’ means a unique individual identification number assigned to a platform operator by the Revenue Commissioners; | ||
‘relevant information’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (7)(a). | ||
(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), a platform operator that— | ||
(i) is resident in the State for tax purposes, | ||
(ii) is incorporated in the State, | ||
(iii) has a place of management in the State, or | ||
(iv) has a permanent establishment in the State and is not a qualified non-union platform operator, | ||
shall register with the Revenue Commissioners as a platform operator for the purposes of this section. | ||
(b) A platform operator that meets one or more of the conditions in subparagraphs (i) to (iv) of paragraph (a) and also satisfies those conditions in respect of another Member State shall not register with the Revenue Commissioners if it elects to register as a platform operator for the purposes of the Directive in that other Member State and notifies that election in writing to the Revenue Commissioners. | ||
(c) Subject to paragraph (d), a platform operator— | ||
(i) other than one that is required to register with— | ||
(I) the Revenue Commissioners under paragraph (a), or | ||
(II) the competent authority of another Member State, under provisions similar to paragraph (a) in force in that Member State, as a platform operator for the purposes of the Directive, | ||
and | ||
(ii) that facilitates the carrying out of a relevant activity in a Member State, including the State— | ||
(I) by reportable sellers, or | ||
(II) involving the rental of immovable property, | ||
shall register with the Revenue Commissioners as a platform operator for the purposes of this section and the Revenue Commissioners shall assign a Platform Operator ID to such platform operator. | ||
(d) Paragraph (c) shall not apply to a platform operator that has registered with the competent authority of another Member State, under provisions similar to paragraph (c) in force in that Member State, as a platform operator for the purposes of the Directive and has been assigned the equivalent of a Platform Operator ID by that competent authority and such Platform Operator ID has not been revoked. | ||
(e) Subject to paragraph (f), where a platform operator, registered under paragraph (c), does not comply with its obligations under this section or regulations made under this section, the Revenue Commissioners shall revoke that platform operator’s Platform Operator ID. | ||
(f) The Platform Operator ID shall not be revoked under paragraph (e) before— | ||
(i) the Revenue Commissioners have issued 2 reminders in writing to the platform operator of the obligations imposed on that platform operator under this section, and | ||
(ii) the expiration of 30 days from the date of the second such reminder referred to in subparagraph (i). | ||
(g) An excluded platform operator registered in the State shall make a return, by 31 January of the year immediately following the end of the reportable period, to the Revenue Commissioners confirming that the excluded platform operator has not facilitated any relevant activity in the reportable period and provide such particulars as are necessary to demonstrate that the excluded platform operator is not a reportable platform operator to which subparagraphs (1) to (3) of paragraph A of Section III of Annex V to the Directive apply. | ||
(4) A reportable platform operator registered in the State for the purposes of this section shall, by 31 January of the year immediately following the end of the reportable period— | ||
(a) make a return under this section to the Revenue Commissioners, and | ||
(b) provide to a reportable seller a copy of the information contained in that return in respect of such reportable seller. | ||
(5) A return made under subsection (4) shall contain— | ||
(a) the following details in respect of a reporting platform operator: | ||
(i) the name of the reporting platform operator; | ||
(ii) the registered office address of the reporting platform operator; | ||
(iii) the TIN of the reporting platform operator; | ||
(iv) the Platform Operator ID, where one has been assigned by the Revenue Commissioners; | ||
(v) the business name of each platform in respect of which the reporting platform operator is reporting, | ||
(b) the following details in respect of reportable sellers who are individuals: | ||
(i) the first name and last name of each reportable seller; | ||
(ii) the primary address of each reportable seller; | ||
(iii) the TIN issued to each reportable seller, and where a reportable seller has a TIN issued by more than one Member State, the Member State of issuance of each TIN, or in the absence of a TIN the place of birth of such reportable seller; | ||
(iv) the VAT identification number of each reportable seller, where available; | ||
(v) the date of birth of each reportable seller, | ||
(c) the following details in respect of reportable sellers who are not individuals: | ||
(i) the legal name of each reportable seller; | ||
(ii) the primary address of each reportable seller; | ||
(iii) where relevant activities are carried on through a permanent establishment in any Member State, details for each reportable seller of each Member State where such a permanent establishment is located, where available; | ||
(iv) any TIN issued to each reportable seller, and where a reportable seller has a TIN issued by more than one Member State, the Member State of issuance of each TIN; | ||
(v) the VAT identification number of each reportable seller, where available; | ||
(vi) the business registration number of each reportable seller, | ||
(d) the following details in respect of all reportable sellers: | ||
(i) the total consideration paid or credited to each reportable seller during each quarter of the reportable period and the number of relevant activities in respect of which the consideration was paid or credited; | ||
(ii) any fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the reporting platform operator with respect to each reportable seller during each quarter of the reportable period; | ||
(iii) the financial account identifier of each reportable seller, if available; | ||
(iv) where different from the name of a reportable seller, the name of the holder of the financial account to which the consideration is paid or credited, to the extent available to the reporting platform operator, as well as any other financial identification information available to the reporting platform operator with respect to that account holder; | ||
(v) each Member State in which each reportable seller is resident, as determined pursuant to paragraph D of Section II of Annex V to the Directive, | ||
(e) where the relevant activity of a reportable seller involves the rental of immovable property, in addition to the information specified in paragraphs (b) to (d), the following information in respect of each reportable seller: | ||
(i) the address of each property listing; | ||
(ii) the unique identifier, or identifiers, allocated under the Registration of Title Act 1964 to the land of each property listing, if available, or its equivalent under the law of the Member State where it is located, where available; | ||
(iii) the total consideration paid or credited during each quarter of the reportable period and the number of relevant activities provided with respect to each property listing; | ||
(iv) where available, the number of days each property listing was rented during the reportable period and the type of each property listing, | ||
and | ||
(f) such other information as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (9). | ||
(6) A reporting platform operator shall put in place such procedures as may be prescribed in regulations under subsection (10)(c) to identify when a seller becomes a reportable seller. | ||
(7) (a) A reportable seller shall provide to the reporting platform operator such information as is necessary for that reporting platform operator to comply with the reporting obligations imposed under subsection (5) (referred to in this subsection as the ‘relevant information’). | ||
(b) Where a reportable seller does not provide the relevant information to the reporting platform operator— | ||
(i) the account of the reportable seller shall be closed by the reportable platform operator, and | ||
(ii) the account of the reportable seller cannot be reopened, or a new account opened by the reportable seller, with the reportable platform operator until such time as the relevant information has been provided. | ||
(8) A reporting platform operator may, subject to such conditions relating to the appointment of a third party as may be prescribed in regulations made under this section, appoint a third party to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on it by this section. | ||
(9) The Revenue Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may make regulations under this section with respect to the registration of platform operators with the Revenue Commissioners and the return by a reporting platform operator of information regarding relevant activities undertaken by reportable sellers on their platform. | ||
(10) Regulations made under this section may (without prejudice to the generality of subsection (9)), in particular, include provision for— | ||
(a) in respect of the requirements imposed on platform operators by subsection (3), the period within which such requirements shall be satisfied, | ||
(b) in respect of a return required to be made under subsection (4)— | ||
(i) the manner in which returns are to be made, | ||
(ii) the currency in which the reporting platform operator is required to report, and | ||
(iii) the rules for conversion of amounts, denominated other than in the currency referred to in subparagraph (ii), into that currency, for the purposes of making a return under subsection (4), | ||
(c) in respect of the requirement imposed on the platform operators by subsection (6), the procedures to be put in place by a reporting platform operator for the purposes of identifying when a seller becomes a reportable seller, | ||
(d) in respect of the requirement imposed on the platform operators by subsection (7)(b)— | ||
(i) the procedures to be followed by a platform operator in respect of closing an account of a reportable seller, and | ||
(ii) the requirements to be satisfied before the platform operator can reopen an account, or open a new account, for a reportable seller whose account has previously been closed by the platform operator, | ||
(e) the records and documents that are required to be provided by the reportable seller to the reporting platform operator to enable the reporting platform operator to comply with the obligations imposed by paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e), as the case may be, of subsection (5), | ||
(f) the records and documents provided by the reportable seller to the reporting platform operator to enable the reporting platform operator to comply with the obligations imposed by paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e), as the case may be, of subsection (5) that are required to be retained by the reporting platform operator, | ||
(g) the appointment of a third party by a reporting platform operator to carry out the duties and obligations imposed on it by this section or regulations made under this section, | ||
(h) in relation to any of the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (g), the manner in which records shall be kept and the period for the retention of records so kept as provided for in subparagraph (1) of paragraph B of Section IV of Annex V to the Directive, and | ||
(i) such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Revenue Commissioners to be necessary— | ||
(i) to enable persons to fulfil their obligations under the regulations, or | ||
(ii) for the general administration and implementation of the regulations. | ||
(11) 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 prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder. | ||
(12) The Revenue Commissioners may authorise in writing any of their officers to exercise any powers to perform any acts or discharge any functions conferred by this section or regulations made under this section. | ||
(13) Subject to subsection (14), a Revenue officer authorised under subsection (12) may at all reasonable times enter any premises or place of business of a reporting platform operator for the purposes of— | ||
(a) determining whether information regarding a relevant activity— | ||
(i) included in a return made under subsection (4) or regulations made under this section by the reporting platform operator 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 reporting platform operator for the purposes of ensuring compliance with that platform operator’s obligations under this section or regulations made under this section. | ||
(14) An authorised officer shall not, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling without a warrant issued under subsection (15) authorising the entry. | ||
(15) A judge of the District Court, if satisfied on the sworn evidence of an authorised officer that— | ||
(a) there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that any information or records, as the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of his or her functions under this section, is or are held on any premises or part of any premises, and | ||
(b) an authorised officer, in the performance of his or her functions under this section has been prevented from entering the premises or any part thereof, | ||
may issue a warrant authorising the authorised officer, accompanied if necessary by other persons, at any time or times within 30 days from the date of issue of the warrant and on production if so requested of the warrant, to enter, if need be by reasonable force, the premises or part of the premises concerned and perform all or any of the functions conferred on the authorised officer under this section. | ||
(16) (a) Section 898O shall apply to— | ||
(i) a failure by a reporting platform operator to make a return required under subsection (4) or regulations made under this section, and | ||
(ii) the making of an incorrect or incomplete return under subsection (4) or regulations made under this section, | ||
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 regulations made under this section, or | ||
(ii) any requirement of such regulations, | ||
shall be liable to a penalty of €1,265. | ||
(17) 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 made under this section, then this section and those regulations shall apply as if the arrangements, or that part of them, had not been entered into. | ||
(18) A word or expression which is used in this section or in regulations made under this section and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this section or in those regulations as it has in the Directive. | ||
(19) Sections 888 and 890 shall not apply to a reportable platform operator where that reportable platform operator has fulfilled the obligations imposed under this section and regulations made under this section.”. | ||
(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may by order or orders appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions. | ||
43 OJ No. L64, 11.3.2011, p. 1 44 OJ No. L359, 16.12.2014, p. 1 45 OJ No. L332, 18.12.2015, p. 1 46 OJ No. L146, 3.6.2016, p. 1 47 OJ No. L342, 16.12.2016, p. 1 48 OJ No. L139, 5.6.2011, p. 1 |