S.I. No. 266/1993:

VALUE-ADDED TAX (REFUND OF TAX) (NO. 25) ORDER, 1993.

VALUE-ADDED TAX (REFUND OF TAX) (NO. 25) ORDER, 1993.

I, BERTIE AHERN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 20 (3) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 (No. 22 of 1972), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Value-Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No. 25) Order, 1993.

2. (1) In this Order--

"the Act" means the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 ;

"flat-rate farmer" has the meaning assigned to it by section 12A (2) of the Act;

"qualifying person" means a flat-rate farmer who has borne or paid tax in relation to outlay on the construction, extension, alteration or reconstruction of any building or structure which is designed for use solely or mainly for the purposes of a farming business, or on the fencing, drainage or reclamation of any land intended for use for the purposes of such a business;

"registered person" means a flat-rate farmer who is a taxable person referred to in subsection (1A) (c) or (2) (b) of section 8 of the Act and who is included on the register of taxable persons maintained by the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to section 9 of the Act;

"structure" includes a farmyard, a farm road and a concrete path adjacent to farm buildings;

"unregistered person" means a flat-rate farmer other than a registered person.

(2) In this Order a reference to a paragraph is to a paragraph of this Order, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3. An unregistered person who establishes to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that he is a qualifying person, and who fulfils to the satisfaction of the said Commissioners the conditions which are specified in paragraph 4, shall be entitled to be repaid so much of such tax as is specified in paragraph 7.

4. The conditions to be fulfilled by an unregistered person are as follows:

( a ) he shall claim a repayment of the tax by completing such claim form as may be provided for that purpose by the Revenue Commissioners and he shall certify the particulars shown on such claim form to be correct;

( b ) he shall produce--

(i) the invoices or other documents, issued or given to him for the purposes of section 17 of the Act, or

(ii) the receipts for tax paid on goods imported,

showing the tax borne or paid by him which is the subject of the refund claim;

( c ) he shall, if requested to do so by the Revenue Commissioners, produce the plans, specifications or other documentary evidence in relation to--

(i) the construction, extension, alteration or reconstruction of a building or structure which is designed for use solely or mainly for the purposes of a farming business, or

(ii) the fencing, drainage or reclamation of any land intended for use for the purposes of such a business,

in respect of which his claim for a refund of tax is being made; and

( d ) he shall have complied with all the obligations imposed on him by the Act, the Income Tax Acts, the Corporation Tax Acts or the Capital Gains Tax Act, and any instruments made thereunder, in relation to--

(i) the payment or remittance of the taxes, interest and penalties required to be paid or remitted thereunder, and

(ii) the delivery of returns.

5. A registered person who is a qualifying person shall, subject to the conditions which are specified in paragraph 6, be entitled to reclaim so much of such tax as is specified in paragraph 7 as if such tax were deductible tax under section 12 of the Act.

6. The conditions to be fulfilled by a registered person are as follows:

( a ) he shall reclaim the tax in the return which he is obliged to furnish in accordance with section 19 (3) of the Act and he shall certify the particulars shown on the relevant return form to be correct;

( b ) he shall retain all the documents referred to in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 4 which are relevant to his claim as if they were records to be kept in accordance with section 16 of the Act; and

( c ) he shall have complied with all the obligations imposed on him by the Act, the Income Tax Acts, the Corporation Tax Acts or the Capital Gains Tax Act, and any instruments made thereunder, in relation to--

(i) the payment or remittance of the taxes, interest and penalties required to be paid or remitted thereunder, and

(ii) the delivery of returns.

7. The amount of tax to be repaid in accordance with paragraph 3 or reclaimed in accordance with paragraph 5 shall, subject to paragraph 8, be the tax borne or paid which the qualifying person shows to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be referable solely to outlay which relates to--

( a ) the construction, extension, alteration or reconstruction of that part of the building or structure which was designed solely for the purposes of a farming business and has actually been put to us in such a business carried on by him, or

( b ) the fencing, drainage or reclamation of any land which has actually been put to use in such a business carried on by him.

8. A claim for repayment of tax under subparagraph (a) of paragraph 4 shall be made only in respect of outlay involving a total amount of tax of more than £100.

9. The Value-Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No. 1) Order, 1972 ( S.I. No. 267 of 1972 ), the Value-Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No. 8) Order, 1978 ( S.I. No. 145 of 1978 ) and the Value-Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No. 17) Order, 1984 ( S.I. No. 249 of 1984 ), are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 15th day of September, 1993.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order replaces S.I. No. 267 of 1972 , S.I. No. 145 of 1978 and S.I. No. 249 of 1984 . It retains the scheme provided for in those Orders for the refund of VAT paid by farmers on the construction of farm buildings, fencing, drainage and reclamation of farm land. The previous scheme applied only to farmers who were not registered for VAT. However, under Single Market rules farmers may have to register for VAT because of intra-Community acquisitions or certain services received from abroad; the new Order ensures that these farmers can still obtain the benefit of the VAT refund.

The Order also updates the documentary evidence required in support of a refund claim and makes the granting of a refund conditional on the claimant's tax affairs being in order.