and the information required for those purposes to be included in the application made to the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (2A) by a qualifying company.”, (d) in subsection (8), by substituting “the year of assessment 2008” for “the year of assessment 2004”, (e) in subsection (9), by substituting “the year of assessment 2008” for “the year of assessment 2004”, (f) in subsection (11)(a), by substituting “the revocation, under subsection (2D), by the Revenue Commissioners of a certificate issued by them under subsection (2A)” for “the revocation by the Minister of a certificate under subsection (2)”, (g) in subsection (13), by deleting paragraphs (b) and (c), and (h) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (21): “(22) The Revenue Commissioners shall be responsible for verifying compliance with conditions specified in any certificate issued by the Minister prior to the day appointed by order made by the Minister for Finance for the coming into operation of this subsection, where the qualifying company has not, prior to the day so appointed, submitted the items, statements, reports or other matters required to be submitted to the Minister under the terms of such certificate to enable the Minister to verify such compliance.
\nAmendment of Chapter 1A (investment undertakings) of Part 27 of Principal Act.
\n29.—(1) Chapter 1A (inserted by the Finance Act 2000 ) of Part 27 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in the definition of “chargeable event” in section 739B(1)— (i) by deleting “and” in paragraph (c), and (ii) by inserting the following after paragraph (c): “(cc) the appropriation or cancellation of units of a unit holder by an investment undertaking for the purposes of meeting the amount of appropriate tax payable on any gain arising by virtue of paragraph (c), and”, (b) in section 739D— (i) by deleting “and” after “unit holder,” in subsection (2)(d)(ii), (ii) by inserting the following after subsection (2)(d): “(dd) where the chargeable event is the appropriation or cancellation of units by an investment undertaking as a consequence of the transfer by a unit holder of entitlement to a unit, the amount determined under subsection (5A), and”, and (iii) by inserting the following after subsection (5): “(5A) The amount referred to in subsection (2)(dd) is the amount determined by the formula— A × G × 100 ______________ 100 − (G × (S + 3)) where— A is the appropriate tax payable on the transfer by a unit holder of entitlement to a unit in accordance with subsection (2)(d), G is the amount of the gain on that transfer of that unit divided by the value of that unit, and S is the standard rate per cent (within the meaning of section 4).”, and (c) in section 739E— (i) in subsection (1)(b) by substituting “paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (dd)” for “paragraph (b), (c) or (d)”, and (ii) in subsection (3)— (I) by deleting “or” in paragraph (b)(i), and (II) by inserting the following after paragraph (b)(i): “(ia) the appropriation or cancellation of units as a consequence of the transfer by a unit holder of entitlement to a unit, or”.
\nAmendment of Chapter 4 (certain offshore funds — taxation and returns) of Part 27 of Principal Act.
\n30.—Chapter 4 of Part 27 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 747E(4)(b) by substituting “section 396, 396B” for “section 396”, and (b) by inserting the following after section 747E: “Reconstructions and amalgamations in offshore funds.
\n747F.—(1) In this section ‘scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation’ means an arrangement under which each person who has a material interest in an offshore fund (in this section referred to as an ‘old interest’) receives in place of that old interest a material interest in another offshore fund (in this section referred to as the ‘new interest’) in respect of or in proportion to, or as nearly as may be in proportion to, the value of the old interest and as a result of which the value of that old interest becomes negligible.
\nAmendment of Schedule 24 (relief from income tax and corporation tax by means of credit in respect of foreign tax) to Principal Act.
\n31.—(1) Schedule 24 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in paragraph 9A— (i) in subparagraph (4)(b) by substituting “5 per cent” for “25 per cent”, and (ii) in subparagraph (5)(a) by deleting “, in respect of taxes covered by these arrangements,”, (b) in paragraph 9B— (i) in subparagraph (2) by substituting the following for “underlying tax to be taken into account.”: “underlying tax to be taken into account: and for this purpose there shall, subject to Part 1, be taken into account as if it were tax payable under the law of the territory in which the third company is resident— (i) any income tax or corporation tax payable in the State by the foreign company in respect of its profits, and (ii) any tax which, under the law of any other territory, is payable by the foreign company in respect of its profits.”, (ii) in subparagraph (5)— (I) in clause (b)(i) by substituting “5 per cent” for “25 per cent”, and (II) in clause (b)(iii) by substituting “5 per cent” for “10 per cent”, and (c) by adding the following after paragraph 9D— “Treatment of unrelieved foreign tax 9E. (1) (a) In this paragraph— ‘the aggregate amount of corporation tax payable by a company for an accounting period in respect of relevant dividends received by the company in the accounting period from foreign companies’ means so much of the corporation tax which, apart from this paragraph, would be payable by the company for that accounting period as would not have been payable had those dividends not been received by the company; ‘foreign company’ means a company resident outside the State; ‘unrelieved foreign tax’ has the meaning assigned to it in subparagraph (2). (b) For the purposes of this paragraph, a dividend is a relevant dividend if it is received by a company (in this clause referred to as the ‘receiving company’) from a company which is not resident in the State (in this clause referred to as the ‘paying company’) and the paying company is related to the receiving company (within the meaning of paragraph 9B(5)(b)).
\nAmendment of section 817C (restriction on deductibility of certain interest) of Principal Act.
\n32.—(1) Section 817C (inserted by the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2) by substituting “Subject to subsection (2A), this section applies where” for “This section applies where”, and (b) by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(2A) (a) This section does not apply where the connected person referred to in subsection (2) is a company which— (i) is not resident in the State, and (ii) is not under the control, whether directly or indirectly, of a person who is, or persons who are, resident in the State. (b) For the purposes of this subsection— (i) ‘control’ shall be construed in accordance with subsections (2) to (6) of section 432 as if in subsection (6) of that section for ‘5 or fewer participators’ there were substituted ‘persons resident in the State’, and (ii) a company shall not be treated as under the control whether directly or indirectly, of a person or persons if that person is or those persons are, in turn under the control of another person or other persons.”.
\nCorporation Tax Tax credit for research and development expenditure, etc.
\n33.—(1) The Principal Act is amended— (a) by substituting the following for section 766: “Tax credit for research and development expenditure.
\n766.—(1) (a) In this section— ‘appropriate inspector’ has the same meaning as in section 950; ‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 1993; ‘expenditure on research and development’, in relation to a company, means expenditure, other than expenditure on a building or structure, incurred by the company in the carrying on by it of research and development activities in a relevant Member State, being expenditure— (i) which is allowable for the purposes of tax in the State as a deduction in computing the income from a trade (otherwise than by virtue of section 307) or is relieved under Part 8, (ii) on machinery or plant which qualifies for any allowance under Part 9 or this Chapter, or (iii) which qualifies for an allowance under section 764, but— (I) expenditure on research and development shall not include a royalty or other sum paid by a company in respect of the user of an invention— (A) if the royalty or other sum is paid to a person who is connected with the company within the meaning of section 10 and is income from a qualifying patent within the meaning of section 234, or (B) to the extent to which the royalty or other sum exceeds the royalty or other sum which would have been paid if the payer of the royalty or other sum and the beneficial recipient of the royalty or other sum were independent persons acting at arm's length, and (II) expenditure incurred by a company which is resident in the State shall not be expenditure on research and development if it— (A) may be taken into account as an expense in computing income of the company, (B) is expenditure in respect of which an allowance for capital expenditure may be made to the company, or (C) may otherwise be allowed or relieved in relation to the company, for the purposes of tax in a territory other than the State; ‘group expenditure on research and development’, in relation to a relevant period of a group of companies, means the aggregate of the amounts of expenditure on research and development incurred in the relevant period by qualified companies which for the relevant period are members of the group: but— (i) expenditure incurred by a company which is a member of a group for a part of a relevant period shall only be included in group expenditure on research and development if the expenditure is incurred at a time when the company is a member of the group, and (ii) expenditure on research and development incurred by a company which has been included in group expenditure on research and development in relation to a group shall not be included in group expenditure on research and development in relation to any other group;
\n‘qualified company’, in relation to a relevant period, means a company which— (i) throughout the relevant period— (I) carries on a trade, (II) is a 51 per cent subsidiary of a company which carries on a trade, or (III) is a 51 per cent subsidiary of a company whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of stocks, shares or securities of a company which carries on a trade or more than one such company, (ii) carries out research and development activities in the relevant period, and (iii) maintains a record of expenditure incurred by it in the carrying out by it of those activities; ‘qualifying group expenditure on research and development’, in relation to a relevant period, means an amount equal to the excess of the amount of group expenditure on research and development in relation to the relevant period over the threshold amount in relation to the relevant period; ‘relevant Member State’ means a state which is a Member State of the European Communities or, not being such a Member State, a state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement; ‘relevant period’ means— (i) in the case of companies which are members of a group the respective ends of the accounting periods of the members of which coincide, the period of 12 months throughout which one or more members of the group carries on a trade and ending at the end of the first accounting period which commences on or after 1 January 2004, and (ii) in the case of companies which are members of a group the respective ends of the accounting periods of which do not coincide, the period specified in a notice in writing made jointly by companies which are members of the group and given to the appropriate inspector within a period of 9 months after the end of the period so specified, being a period of 12 months throughout which one or more members of the group carries on a trade and ending at the end of the first accounting period of a company which is a member of the group which accounting period commences on or after 1 January 2004, and each subsequent period of 12 months commencing immediately after the end of the preceding relevant period; ‘research and development activities’ means systematic, investigative or experimental activities in a field of science or technology, being one or more of the following— (i) basic research, namely, experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new scientific or technical knowledge without a specific practical application in view, (ii) applied research, namely, work undertaken in order to gain scientific or technical knowledge and directed towards a specific practical application, or
\n(iii) experimental development, namely, work undertaken which draws on scientific or technical knowledge or practical experience for the purpose of achieving technological advancement and which is directed at producing new, or improving existing, materials, products, devices, processes, systems or services including incremental improvements thereto: but activities will not be research and development activities unless they— (I) seek to achieve scientific or technological advancement, and (II) involve the resolution of scientific or technological uncertainty; ‘threshold amount’, in relation to a relevant period of a group of companies, means— (i) where the relevant period is a period commencing at any time after 31 December 2003 and before 1 January 2007, the aggregate of the amounts of expenditure on research and development incurred in the period of one year ending on a date in the year 2003 which corresponds with the date on which the relevant period ends, (ii) in any other case, the aggregate of the amounts of expenditure on research and development incurred in the period of one year ending on a date which is 3 years before the end of the relevant period, by all companies which are members of the group in the threshold period in relation to the relevant period concerned: but expenditure incurred by a company which is a member of the group for a part of the threshold period shall only be included in the threshold amount if the expenditure is incurred at a time when the company is a member of the group; ‘threshold period’, in relation to a relevant period, means the period of one year referred to in the definition of ‘threshold amount’; ‘university or institute of higher education’ means— (i) a college or institution of higher education in the State which— (I) provides courses to which a scheme approved by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992 applies, or (II) operates in accordance with a code of standards which from time to time may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be laid down by the Minister for Education and Science, and which the Minister for Education and Science approves for the purposes of section 473A; (ii) any university or similar institution of higher education in a relevant Member State (other than the State) which— (I) is maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from public funds of that or any other relevant Member State (including the State), or (II) is a duly accredited university or institution of higher education in the Member State in which it is situated.
\n(b) For the purposes of this section— (i) 2 companies shall be deemed to be members of a group if one company is a 51 per cent subsidiary of the other company or both companies are 51 per cent subsidiaries of a third company: but in determining whether one company is a 51 per cent subsidiary of another company, the other company shall be treated as not being the owner of— (I) any share capital which it owns directly in a company if a profit on a sale of the shares would be treated as a trading receipt of its trade, or (II) any share capital which it owns indirectly, and which is owned directly by a company for which a profit on a sale of the shares would be a trading receipt; (ii) sections 412 to 418 shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph as they would apply for the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 12 if— (I) ‘51 per cent subsidiary’ were substituted for ‘75 per cent subsidiary’ in each place where it occurs in that Chapter, and (II) paragraph (c) of section 411(1) were deleted; (iii) a company and all its 51 per cent subsidiaries shall form a group and, where that company is a member of a group as being itself a 51 per cent subsidiary, that group shall comprise all its 51 per cent subsidiaries and the first-mentioned group shall be deemed not to be a group: but a company which is not a member of a group shall be treated as if it were a member of a group which consists of that company; (iv) in determining whether a company was a member of a group of companies (in this subparagraph referred to as the ‘threshold group’) for the purposes of determining the threshold amount in relation to a relevant period of a group of companies (in this subparagraph referred to as the ‘relevant group’), the threshold group shall be treated as the same group as the relevant group notwithstanding that one or more of the companies in the threshold group is not in the relevant group, or vice versa, where any person or group of persons which controlled the threshold group is the same as, or has a reasonable commonality of identity with, the person or group of persons which controls the relevant group; (v) expenditure shall not be regarded as having been incurred by a company if it has been or is to be met directly or indirectly by grant assistance or any other assistance which is granted by or through the State, any board established by statute, any public or local authority or any other agency of the State; (vi) where a company— (I) incurs expenditure on research and development at a time when the company is not carrying on a trade, being expenditure which, apart from this subparagraph, is not included in group expenditure on research and development, and
\n(II) the company begins to carry on a trade after that time, the expenditure shall be treated as it would if the company had commenced to carry on the trade at the time the expenditure was incurred; (vii) where in any period a company— (I) incurs expenditure on research and development, and (II) pays a sum to a university or institute of higher education in order for that university or institute to carry on research and development activities in a relevant Member State, so much of the sum so paid as does not exceed 5 per cent of that expenditure shall be treated as if it were expenditure incurred by the company on the carrying on by it of research and development activities.
\nTax credit on expenditure on buildings or structures used for research and development.
\n766A.—(1) (a) In this section— ‘qualified company’, ‘relevant member State’ and ‘research and development activities’ have the same meanings as in section 766; ‘refurbishment’, in relation to a building or structure, means any work of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal including the provision of water, sewerage or heating facilities carried out in the course of the repair or restoration, or maintenance in the nature of repair or restoration, of the building or structure; ‘relevant expenditure’ on a building or structure, in relation to a company, means expenditure incurred by the company on the construction of a building or structure which is to be used wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the carrying on by the company of research and development activities in a relevant Member State, being expenditure which qualifies for an allowance under Part 9 or this Part: but expenditure incurred by a company which is resident in the State shall not be relevant expenditure if it— (i) may be taken into account as an expense in computing income of the company, (ii) is expenditure in respect of which an allowance for capital expenditure may be made to the company, or (iii) may otherwise be allowed or relieved in relation to the company, for the purposes of tax in a territory other than the State. (b) For the purposes of this section— (i) expenditure shall not be regarded as having been incurred by a company if it has been or is to be met directly or indirectly by the State; (ii) a reference to expenditure incurred on the construction of a building or structure includes expenditure on the refurbishment of the building or structure, but does not include— (I) any expenditure incurred on the acquisition of, or of rights in or over, any land, (II) any expenditure on the provision of machinery or plant or on any asset treated for any chargeable period as machinery or plant, or (III) any expenditure on research and development within the meaning of section 766; (iii) where a building or structure which is to be used for the purposes of the carrying on of research and development activities forms part of a building or is one of a number of buildings in a single development, or forms a part of a building which is itself one of a number of buildings in a single development, there shall be made such apportionment as is necessary of the expenditure incurred on the construction of the whole building or number of buildings, as the case may be, for the purpose of determining the expenditure incurred on the construction of the building or structure which is to be used for the purposes of carrying on of research and development activities,
\n(iv) paragraphs (i) to (iii) of section 766(1)(b) shall apply.
\nAmendment of section 831 (implementation of Council Directive No. 90/435/EEC concerning the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States) of Principal Act.
\n34.—Section 831 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) in the definition of “company” by deleting “, other than in the expression ‘unlimited company’ in subsection (5A),”, (ii) in the definition of “the Directive” by inserting “, as amended by Council Directive No. 2003/123/EC of 22 December 20031 ,” after “1990”, (iii) in the definition of “parent company”— (I) by substituting the following for paragraph (i): “(i) a company which owns at least 5 per cent of the share capital of another company which is not resident in the State, or”, and (II) by substituting “5 per cent” for “25 per cent” in each place where it occurs in paragraphs (ii), (I) and (II), (b) in subsection (2)— (i) by deleting “which is resident in this State”, and (ii) in paragraph (a)— (I) by substituting the following for subparagraph (i): “(i) any witholding tax charged on the distribution by a Member State pursuant to a derogation duly given from Article 5.1 of the Directive,”, (II) in subparagraph (ii) by substituting “resident, and” for “resident,”, and (III) by inserting the following after subparagraph (ii): “(iii) any foreign tax borne by a company that would be allowed under paragraph 9B of Schedule 24 if in subparagraphs (2) and (3) ‘and is connected with the relevant company’ in each place where it occurs were deleted.”, (c) by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(2A) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where by virtue of the legal characteristics of a subsidiary (being a company which is not resident in the State) of a parent company, the parent company is chargeable to tax in the State on its share of the profits of the subsidiary company as they arise credit shall be allowed for so much of— (a) any foreign tax borne by the subsidiary, and (b) any foreign tax that would be treated as tax paid by the subsidiary company under paragraph 9B of Schedule 24 if— (i) the subsidiary company were the foreign company for the purposes of that paragraph, and (ii) in subparagraphs (2) and (3) of that paragraph ‘and is connected with the relevant company’ in both places where it occurs were deleted, as is properly attributable to the proportion of the subsidiary's profits which are chargeable on the parent company in the State against corporation tax in respect of the profits so chargeable on the parent company to the extent that credit for such foreign tax would not otherwise be so allowed.”, (d) in subsection (3) by inserting “or (2A)” after “(2)(a)”, and (e) by deleting subsection (5A).
\nTaxation of certain short-term leases plant and machinery.
\n35.—(1) Chapter 5 of Part 4 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 80: “80A.—(1) In this section— ‘asset’ means machinery or plant; ‘fair value’, in relation to a leased asset, means an amount equal to such consideration as might be expected to be paid for the asset at the inception of the lease on a sale negotiated on an arm's length basis, less any grants receivable by the lessor towards the purchase of the asset; ‘inception of the lease’ means the date on which the leased asset is brought into use by the lessee or the date from which lease payments under the lease first accrue, whichever is the earlier; ‘lease payments’ means the lease payments over the term of the lease to be paid to the lessor in relation to the leased asset, and includes any residual amount to be paid to the lessor at or after the end of the term of the lease and guaranteed by the lessee or by a person connected with the lessee or under the terms of any scheme or arrangement between the lessee and any other person; ‘lessee’ and ‘lessor’ have the same meanings, respectively, as in section 403; ‘normal accounting practice’ means normal accounting practice in relation to the accounts of companies incorporated in the State; ‘predictable useful life’, in relation to an asset, means the useful life of the asset estimated at the inception of the lease, having regard to the purpose for which the asset was acquired and on the assumption that— (a) its life will end when it ceases to be useful for the purpose for which it was acquired, and (b) it will be used in the normal manner and to the normal extent throughout its life; ‘relevant period’ means the period— (a) beginning at the inception of the lease, and (b) ending at the earliest time at which the aggregate of amounts of the discounted present value at the inception of the lease of lease payments under the terms of the lease which are payable at or before that time amounts to 90 per cent or more of the fair value of the leased asset, and, for the purposes of this definition, relevant lease payments shall be discounted at a rate which, when applied at the inception of the lease to the amount of the relevant lease payments, produces discounted present values the aggregate of which equals the amount of the fair value of the leased asset at the inception of the lease; ‘relevant short-term asset’ in relation to a company means an asset— (a) the predictable useful life of which does not exceed 8 years, and (b) the expenditure on which is incurred by the company on or after the date referred to in subsection (3);
\n‘relevant short-term lease’ means a lease— (a) of a relevant short-term asset, and (b) the relevant period in relation to which does not exceed 8 years.
\nAmendment of section 434 (distributions to be taken into account and meaning of “distributable income”, “investment income”, “estate income”, etc.) of Principal Act.
\n36.—Section 434 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “investment income”: “‘investment income’ of a company means income other than estate income which, if the company were an individual, would not be earned income within the meaning of section 3, but, without prejudice to the meaning of ‘franked investment income’ in this section, does not include— (a) any interest or dividends on investments which, having regard to the nature of the company's trade, would be taken into account as trading receipts in computing trading income but for the fact that they have been subjected to tax otherwise than as trading receipts, or but for the fact that by virtue of section 129 they are not to be taken into account in computing income for corporation tax, and (b) any dividends or other distributions received by the company in respect of shares at a time when any gain on a disposal of the shares would not have been a chargeable gain by virtue of section 626B or would not have been a chargeable gain by virtue of section 626B if paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of that section were deleted.”.
\nAmendment of section 396B (relief for certain trading losses on a value basis) of Principal Act.
\n37.—(1) Section 396B of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1), by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant corporation tax”: “‘relevant corporation tax’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means the corporation tax which would be chargeable on the company for the accounting period apart from— (a) this section and sections 239, 241, 420B, 440 and 441, and (b) where the company carries on a life business (within the meaning of section 706 of the Principal Act), any corporation tax which would be attributable to policyholders' profits;”.
\nAmendment of section 420B (group relief: relief for certain losses on a value basis) of Principal Act.
\n38.—(1) Section 420B of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1), by substituting the following for the definition of “relevant corporation tax”: “‘relevant corporation tax’, in relation to an accounting period of a company, means the corporation tax which would be chargeable on the company for the accounting period apart from— (a) this section and sections 239, 241, 440 and 441, and (b) where the company carries on a life business (within the meaning of section 706 of the Principal Act), any corporation tax which would be attributable to policyholders' profits;”.
\nAmendment of section 486B (relief for investment in renewable energy generation) of Principal Act.
\n39.—(1) Section 486B of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “31 December 2006” for “31 December 2004” in the definition of “qualifying period”.
\nAmendment of Schedule 4 (exemption of specified non-commercial State sponsored bodies from certain tax provisions) to Principal Act.
\n40.—Schedule 4 to the Principal Act is amended by inserting “83A. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board.” after “83. The Pensions Board.”.
\nExemption from tax for certain interest and royalties payments.
\n41.—(1) Part 8 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the provisions set out in Schedule 1 for Chapter 6 (inserted by the European Communities (Abolition of Withholding Tax on Certain Interest and Royalties) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 721 of 2003 )).
\nExemption from tax in the case of gains on certain disposals of shares.
\n42.—(1) The Principal Act is amended— (a) in Chapter 1 of Part 20 by inserting the following after section 626A: “Exemption from tax in the case of gains on certain disposals of shares.
\n626B.—(1) (a) In this section, section 626C and Schedule 25A— ‘investor company’ and ‘investee company’ have the meanings assigned by subsection (2); ‘relevant territory’ means— (i) a Member State of the European Communities, or (ii) not being such a Member State, a territory with the government of which arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1)(a) have been made; ‘relevant time’, in relation to a disposal by an investor company of shares in an investee company, means— (i) for the purposes of subsection (2)(a)(i)(II), the time immediately before— (I) that disposal, or (II) any previous disposal— (A) at a time within the period, or if there was more than one such period the most recent period, during which the investor company was a parent company of the investee company, or (B) within the 2 year period beginning on the most recent day on which the investor company was a parent company of the investee company, and (ii) for the purposes of subsection (2)(a)(ii)(II), the time immediately before— (I) that disposal, or (II) any previous disposal— (A) at a time within the period, or if there was more than one such period the most recent period, during which the investor company would have been a parent company of the investee company, or (B) within the 2 year period beginning on the most recent day on which the investor company would have been a parent company of the investee company, if in subsection (1)(b)(i) ‘5 per cent’ were substituted for ‘10 per cent’ in each place where it occurs; ‘tax’ in relation to a relevant territory other than the State means any tax imposed in that territory which corresponds to income tax or corporation tax in the State; ‘2 year period’ means a period ending on the day before the second anniversary of the day on which the period began. (b) For the purposes of this section, section 626C and Schedule 25A— (i) a company shall only be a parent company in relation to another company at any time if that time falls within an uninterrupted period of not less than 12 months throughout which it directly or indirectly holds shares in that company by virtue of which— (I) it holds not less than 10 per cent of the company's ordinary share capital, (II) it is beneficially entitled to not less than 10 per cent of the profits available for distribution to equity holders of the company, and (III) it would be beneficially entitled on a winding up to not less than 10 per cent of the assets of the company available for distribution to equity holders, and for the purposes of this subparagraph—
\n(A) subsections (2) to (10) of section 9 shall apply with any necessary modifications, and (B) sections 413 to 419 shall apply as they apply for the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 12 but as if ‘in a relevant territory’ were substituted for ‘in the State’ in subparagraph (iii) of section 413(3)(a) and as if paragraph (c) of section 411(1), other than that paragraph as it applies by virtue of subparagraphs (i) and (ii), were disregarded, (ii) in determining whether the conditions in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) are satisfied, a company that is a member of a group shall be treated as holding so much of any shares held by any other company in the group and as having so much of the entitlement of any such company to any rights enjoyed by virtue of holding shares— (I) as the company would not, apart from this paragraph, hold or have, and (II) as are not part of a life business fund within the meaning of section 719, and, for the purposes of this subparagraph, ‘group’ means a company which has one or more 51 per cent subsidiaries together with those subsidiaries, (iii) in determining whether the treatment provided for in subsection (2) applies, the question of whether there is a disposal shall be determined without regard to section 584 or that section as applied by any other section: and, to the extent to which an exemption under subsection (2) does apply in relation to a disposal, section 584 shall not apply in relation to the disposal, (iv) where assets of a company are vested in a liquidator under section 230 of the Companies Act 1963 or otherwise, the assets shall be deemed to be vested in, and the acts of liquidation in relation to the assets shall be deemed to be the acts of, the company (and acquisitions from, and disposals to, the liquidator shall be disregarded accordingly), (v) section 616 shall not apply.
\nTreatment of assets related to shares.
\n626C.—(1) For the purposes of this section— (a) an asset is related to shares in a company if it is— (i) an option to acquire or dispose of shares in that company, (ii) a security to which are attached rights by virtue of which the holder is or may become entitled, whether by conversion or exchange or otherwise, to acquire or dispose of— (I) shares in that company, (II) an option to acquire or dispose of shares in that company, or (III) another security falling within this paragraph, or (iii) an option to acquire or dispose of any security within subparagraph (ii) or an interest in any such security, (b) in determining whether a security is within paragraph (a)(ii), no account shall be taken— (i) of any rights attached to the security other than rights relating, directly or indirectly, to shares of the company in question, or (ii) of rights as regards which, at the time the security came into existence, there was no more than a negligible likelihood that they would in due course be exercised to a significant extent.
\nEffect of deemed disposal and reacquisition 2. (1) In this paragraph— ‘deemed disposal and reacquisition’ means a disposal and immediate reacquisition treated as taking place under the Capital Gains Tax Acts; ‘derived’ has the same meaning as in paragraph 1.
\nEffect of repurchase agreement 3. (1) In this paragraph a ‘repurchase agreement’ means an agreement under which— (a) a person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘original owner’) transfers shares to another person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘interim holder’) under an agreement to sell them, and (b) the original owner or a person connected with him is required to buy them back either— (i) in pursuance of an obligation to do so imposed by that agreement or by any related agreement, or (ii) in consequence of the exercise of an option acquired under that agreement or any related agreement, and for the purposes of paragraph (b) agreements are related if they are entered into in pursuance of the same arrangements (regardless of the date on which either agreement is entered into).
\nEffect of stock lending arrangements 4. (1) In this paragraph a ‘stock lending arrangement’ means arrangements between two persons (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘borrower’ and the ‘lender’) under which— (a) the lender transfers shares to the borrower otherwise than by way of sale, and (b) a requirement is imposed on the borrower to transfer those shares back to the lender otherwise than by way of sale.
\nEffect in relation to investee company of earlier company reconstruction etc.
\nNegligible value 6. A claim under section 538(2) may not be made in relation to shares held by a company if by virtue of section 626B any loss accruing to the company on a disposal of the shares at the time of the claim, or at any earlier time at or after which the value of the shares becomes negligible, would not be an allowable loss.
\nDegrouping: time when deemed sale and reacquisition treated as taking place 7. Where— (a) a company, as a result of ceasing at any time (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘time of degrouping’) to be a member of a group, is treated by section 623(4) as having sold and immediately reacquired an asset, and (b) if the company owning the asset at the time of degrouping had disposed of it immediately before that time, any gain accruing on the disposal would by virtue of section 626B not have been a chargeable gain, then section 623(4) shall have effect as if it provided for the deemed sale and reacquisition to be treated as taking place immediately before the time of degrouping.
\nAppropriations to trading stock 8. (1) Where— (a) an asset acquired by a company otherwise than as trading stock of a trade carried on by it is appropriated by the company for the purposes of the trade as trading stock (whether on the commencement of the trade or otherwise), and (b) if the company had then sold the asset for its market value, a chargeable gain or allowable loss would have accrued to the company but for the provisions of section 626B, then the company shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if it had thereby disposed of the asset for its market value.
\nExcise Amendment of Chapter 1 (alcohol products tax) of Part 2 of Finance Act 2003, etc.
\n43.—(1) Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2003 is amended— (a) in subsection (1) of section 73 by substituting the following for the definition of “spirits”: “ ‘spirits’ means any product which exceeds 1.2% vol and which is— (a) distilled ethyl alcohol, (b) an alcoholic beverage the full alcohol content of which is the result of a process of distillation, (c) any other product falling within CN Code 2207 or 2208, even when such product forms part of a product which is not an alcohol product, or (d) any beverage exceeding 22% vol, and includes any such product which contains a nonalcoholic product, whether in solution or not;”, (b) in section 75 by substituting the following for subsection (2): “(2) In the case of spirits produced in the State by a process of distillation, where the quantity of spirits produced is less than the quantity capable of being produced from the wort or wash used in such process, the Commissioners may require that, instead of a charge on the quantity of spirits produced, alcohol products tax be charged on the quantity capable of being produced from such wort or wash on the assumption that one litre of alcohol is produced for every 8.8 degrees of attenuation, that is to say, for every 8.8 degrees of difference between the highest gravity of the wort and the lowest gravity of the wash before distillation.
\nAmendment of section 93 (offences in relation to keeping, selling or delivering of unexcised spirits) of Finance Act 2003.
\n44.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act 2003 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the following for the definition of “spirits”: “ ‘spirits’ has the same meaning as it has in section 73
\nTobacco products.
\n45.—(1) In this section and in Schedule 2— “Act of 1977” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act 1977 ; “cigarettes”, “cigars”, “fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes” and “smoking tobacco” have the same meaning as they have in the Act of 1977, as amended by section 86 of the Finance Act 1997 and by section 94 of the Finance Act 2002 .
\nAmendment of section 104 (reliefs) of Finance Act 2001.
\n46.—
\nof the Finance Act 2001 is amended by inserting the following after subsection (3): “(4) (a) Where, as allowed under the terms of the treaty of accession which applies to a Member State, such Member State applies to any tobacco product a rate of excise duty which is less than the minimum rate stipulated for that product in either Council Directive 92/79/EEC of 19 October 19921 or Council Directive 92/80/EEC of 19 October 19922 , the Minister for Finance may by order provide that— (i) subsection (2)(a) shall not apply, and (ii) the quantitative limits set down in such order shall apply, to such tobacco products which, in the circumstances outlined in that subsection, have been acquired in such Member State and transported into the State. (b) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made under paragraph (a). (c) An order under this subsection shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 sitting days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.”.
\nAmendment of section 124A (administrative penalties) of Finance Act 2001.
\n47.—Section 124A (inserted by the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Finance Act 2001 is amended by substituting the following for subsection (1): “(1) An authorised warehousekeeper who contravenes or fails to comply with— (a) any condition imposed on him or her under section 109(5), or (b) any requirement imposed on him or her under— (i) this Part, (ii) the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act 1977 , (iii) Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 1999 , (iv) Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2003 , or (v) any regulation made under the provisions referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iv), is liable to a penalty of €1,500 for each such contravention or failure.”.
\nRates of mineral oil tax.
\n48.—The Finance Act 1999 is amended by substituting the following for Schedule 2 to that Act, as amended by section 91 of the Finance Act 2003 : “SCHEDULE 2 Rates of Mineral Oil Tax (With effect as on and from 4 December 2003) Description of Mineral Oil Rate of Duty Light Oil:
\nLeaded petrol €553.04 per 1,000 litres Unleaded petrol €442.68 per 1,000 litres Super unleaded petrol €547.79 per 1,000 litres Aviation gasoline €276.52 per 1,000 litres Heavy Oil:
\nUsed as a propellant with a maximum sulphur content of 50 milligrammes per kilogramme €368.05 per 1,000 litres Other heavy oil used as a propellant €420.44 per 1,000 litres Kerosene used other than as a propellant €31.74 per 1,000 litres Fuel oil €13.45 per 1,000 litres Other heavy oil €47.36 per 1,000 litres Liquefied Petroleum Gas:
\nUsed as a propellant €53.01 per 1,000 litres Other liquefied petroleum gas €18.15 per 1,000 litres Substitute Fuel:
\nUsed as a propellant €368.05 per 1,000 litres Other substitute fuel €47.36 per 1,000 litres ”.
\nAmendment of section 94 (interpretation) of Finance Act 1999.
\n49.—
\nof the Finance Act 1999 is amended in subsection (1)— (a) by substituting the following for the definition of “biofuel”: “ ‘biofuel’ means any mineral oil which is produced from biomass;”, and (b) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “biofuel”; “ ‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste;”.
\nBiofuel pilot projects.
\n50.—Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 1999 is amended by inserting the following after section 98: “98A.—(1) Where the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, is satisfied that any biofuel is essential to a pilot project undertaken in the State which is designed either— (a) to produce biofuel, or (b) to test the technical viability of biofuel for use as motor fuel, a relief from mineral oil tax shall, subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may impose, apply to such biofuel.
\nAmendment of section 100 (reliefs from mineral oil tax for certain mineral oils) of Finance Act 1999.
\n51.—
\nof the Finance Act 1999 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the following for paragraph (l) (inserted by the Finance Act 2001 ): “(l) mineral oil used by a manufacturer in the production of mineral oil; (m) heavy oil which is intended for use or which has been used in aircraft engines during testing and maintenance of such engines.”.
\nAmendment of section 6 of Roads Act 1920.
\n52.—(1)
\nof the Roads Act 1920 (as amended by section 131 of the Finance Act 1992 ) is amended by deleting subsection (2).
\nAmendment of section 141 (regulations) of Finance Act 1992.
\n53.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act 1992 is amended— (a) in subsection (2)— (i) by deleting paragraph (d), and (ii) by substituting “subsections (7) and (11)” for “subsections (7), (11) and (15)” in paragraph (s) (inserted by section 74 of the Finance Act 1996 ), and (b) in subsection (3) (inserted by section 56 (b) of the Finance Act 1993 ) by substituting “other than subsections (6), (7) and (11)” for “other than subsections (6), (7), (11) and (15)”.
\nValue-Added Tax Interpretation (Part 3).
\n54.—In this Part— “Act of 1978” means the Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Act 1978 ; “Act of 2001” means the Finance Act 2001 ; “Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Act 1972 .
\nAmendment of section 1 (interpretation) of Principal Act.
\n55.—Section 1 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for the definition of “taxable dealer”: “‘taxable dealer’— (a) in relation to supplies of gas through the natural gas distribution system, or of electricity, has the meaning assigned to it by section 3(6A), (b) in relation to supplies of movable goods other than a means of transport, has the meaning assigned to it by section 10A, and (c) in relation to supplies of means of transport, has the meaning assigned to it by section 12B;”.
\nAmendment of section 3 (supply of goods) of Principal Act.
\n56.—Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (6) (inserted by the Finance Act 1992 ) by substituting in the proviso to paragraph (d) “such supplies,” for “such supplies.” and by inserting the following paragraphs after the proviso to paragraph (d): “(e) in the case of the supply of gas through the natural gas distribution system, or of electricity, to a taxable dealer, whether in the State, or in another Member State of the Community, or outside the Community, the place where that taxable dealer has established the business concerned or has a fixed establishment for which the goods are supplied, or in the absence of such a place of business or fixed establishment the place where that taxable dealer has a permanent address or usually resides, (f) in the case of the supply of gas through the natural gas distribution system, or of electricity, to a customer other than a taxable dealer, the place where that customer has effective use and consumption of those goods; but if all or part of those goods are not consumed by that customer, then the goods not so consumed shall be deemed to have been supplied to that customer and used and consumed by that customer at the place where that customer has established the business concerned or has a fixed establishment for which the goods are supplied or in the absence of such a place of business or fixed establishment, the place where that customer has a permanent address or usually resides,”, and (b) by inserting the following after subsection (6): “(6A) In subsection (6) ‘taxable dealer’ means a taxable person whose principal business in respect of supplies of gas through the natural gas distribution system, or of electricity, received by that person, is the supply of those goods for consideration in the course or furtherance of business and whose own consumption of those goods is negligible.”.
\nAmendment of section 4 (special provisions in relation to the supply of immovable goods) of Principal Act.
\n57.—Section 4 of the Principal ACt is amended by substituting the following for subsection (6)— “(6) Notwithstanding anything in this section or in section 2 tax shall not be charged on the supply of immovable goods— (a) in relation to which a right in favour of the person making the supply to a deduction under section 12 in respect of any tax borne or paid on the supply or development of the goods did not arise and would not, apart from section 3(5)(b)(iii), have arisen, or (b) which had been occupied before the specified day and had not been developed between that date and the date of the supply, other than a supply of immovable goods to which the provisions of subsection (5) apply.”.
\nAmendment of section 8 (taxable persons) of Principal Act.
\n58.—Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1) (as amended by the Finance Act 2003 ) by substituting “in paragraph (f) or (g) of subsection (1A)” for “in subsection (1A)(f)”, and (b) by inserting the following after subsection (1A) (f): “(g) Where a taxable person not established in the State supplies gas through the natural gas distribution system, or electricity, to a recipient in the State and where such recipient is— (i) a taxable person, (ii) a Department of State or local authority, (iii) a body established by statute, or (iv) a person who receives that supply for the purpose of any activity specified in the First Schedule, then that recipient shall in relation to that supply be a taxable person or be deemed to be a taxable person and shall be liable to pay the tax chargeable as if that recipient supplied those goods in the course or furtherance of business.”.
\nAmendment of section 11 (rates of tax) of Principal Act.
\n59.—Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(f) (inserted by the Finance Act 1992 ) by substituting “4.4 per cent” for “4.3 per cent” (inserted by the Act of 2001).
\nAmendment of section 12 (deduction for tax borne or paid) of Principal Act.
\n60.—Section 12 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(a) by inserting the following after subparagraph (v): “(va) the tax chargeable during the period, being tax for which the taxable person is liable by virtue of section 8(1A)(f) in respect of goods which are installed or assembled; but this subparagraph shall apply only where the taxable person would be entitled to a deduction of that tax elsewhere under this subsection if that tax had been charged to such person by another taxable person, (vb) the tax chargeable during the period, being tax for which the taxable person is liable by virtue of section 8(1A)(g) in respect of the supply to such person of gas through the natural gas distribution network, or of electricity; but this subparagraph shall apply only where the taxable person would be entitled to a deduction of that tax elsewhere under this subsection if that tax had been charged to such person by another taxable person,”.
\nAmendment of section 12A (special provisions for tax invoiced by flat-rate farmers) of Principal Act.
\n61.—Section 12A (inserted by the Act of 1978) of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting “4.4 per cent” for “4.3 per cent” (inserted by the Act of 2001).
\nAmendment of section 15B (goods in transit (additional provisions)) of Principal Act.
\n62.—Section 15B (inserted by the European Communities (Value-Added Tax) Regulations 1994 (S.I. 448 of 1994)) of the Principal Act is amended— (a) by substituting “before the date of accession” for “on or before the 31st day of December, 1994” in each place where it occurs, (b) by substituting “date of accession” for “1st day of January, 1995” in each place where it occurs, (c) in subsection (5) by deleting the proviso to paragraph (c), (d) by inserting the following after subsection (5): “(5A) Subsection (5)(c) shall be deemed to be complied with where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that— (i) the date of the first use of the means of transport was before 1 January 1987 in the case of means of transport entering the State from the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland (excluding the Åland Islands) or the Kingdom of Sweden, (ii) the date of the first use of the means of transport was before 1 May 1996 in the case of means of transport entering the State from the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia or the Slovak Republic, or (iii) the tax due by reason of the importation does not exceed €130.”, and (e) in paragraph (7)(a)— (i) by inserting the following definition before the definition of “the enlarged Community”: “ ‘date of accession’ means 1 January 1995 in respect of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland (excluding the Åland Islands) and the Kingdom of Sweden or 1 May 2004 in respect of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic;”, and (ii) by substituting the following for the definition of “new Member State”: “ ‘new Member State’ means any state referred to in the definition of ‘date of accession’ with effect from the relevant date.”.
\nAmendment of section 17 (invoices) of Principal Act.
\n63.—Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by inserting the following after “section 11(1),”: “or who supplies goods or services to a person in another Member State who is liable to pay value-added tax pursuant to Council Directive No. 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on such supply,”.
\nAmendment of First Schedule to Principal Act.
\n64.—The First Schedule to the Principal Act is amended— (a) in paragraph (i)(g) (as substituted by the Finance Act 1991 )— (i) by substituting “the management of an undertaking specified in one of the following clauses, and such management may comprise any of the three functions listed in Annex II to Directive 2001/107/EC of the European Parliament and Council (being the functions included in the activity of collective portfolio management) where those functions are supplied by the person with responsibility for the provision of the functions concerned in respect of the undertaking, and which is—” for “the management of an undertaking which is—”, (ii) in clause (IV) by substituting “this subparagraph apply, or” for “this subparagraph apply;”, and (iii) by inserting the following after clause (IV): “(V) an undertaking which is a qualifying company for the purposes of section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ;”, (b) in paragraph (xxv)(b) by substituting “the school;” for “the school.”, and (c) by inserting the following after paragraph (xxv): “(xxvi) the importation of gas through the natural gas distribution system, or the importation of electricity.”.
\nAmendment of Fourth Schedule to Principal Act.
\n65.—The Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act is amended— (a) by inserting the following after paragraph (iiic): “(iiid) the provision of access to, and of transport or transmission through, natural gas and electricity distribution systems and the provision of other directly linked services;”, and (b) in paragraph (v) by inserting “and financial fund management functions” after “re-insurance”.
\nStamp Duties Interpretation (Part 4).
\n66.—In this Part “Principal Act” means the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 .
\nAmendment of section 73 (exemptions) of Principal Act.
\n67.—(1) Section 73 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)— (a) in paragraph (b) by substituting “in priority, or” for “in priority.”, and (b) by inserting the following after paragraph (b): “(c) in respect of an operator-instruction effecting a transfer of rights to securities, in a company which is not an unquoted company within the meaning of section 63, where that transfer is a renunciation of those rights under a letter of allotment.”.
\nAmendment of section 80 (reconstructions or amalgamations of companies) of Principal Act.
\n68.—(1) Section 80 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(2A) (a) This subsection applies to any property, an instrument for the conveyance of which is chargeable to stamp duty under or by reference to the heading ‘CONVEYANCE or TRANSFER on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities or a policy of insurance or a policy of life insurance’ in Schedule 1. (b) Subsection (2) shall not apply to an instrument made for the purposes of or in connection with the transfer of an undertaking of a target company that includes any property to which this subsection applies, where a conveyance of that property has not been obtained by the target company prior to the date of the execution of the instrument.”.
\nAmendment of section 81 (young trained farmers) of Principal Act.
\n69.—Section 81 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (9): “(9) This section shall apply as respects instruments executed before the date of the passing of the Finance Act 2004.”.
\nFurther relief from stamp duty in respect of transfers to young trained farmers.
\n70.—The Principal Act is amended— (a) by inserting the following after section 81: “81A.—(1) In this section and Schedule 2A— ‘interest in land’ means an interest which is not subject to any power (whether or not contained in the instrument) on the exercise of which the land, or any part of or any interest in the land, may be revested in the person from whom it was conveyed or transferred or in any person on behalf of such person; ‘land’ means agricultural land and includes such farm buildings, farm houses and mansion houses (together with the lands occupied with such farm buildings, farm houses and mansion houses) as are of a character appropriate to the land; ‘Schedule 2A qualification’ means a qualification set out in Schedule 2A; ‘young trained farmer’ means a person in respect of whom it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that— (a) the person had not attained the age of 35 years on the date on which the instrument, as respect which relief is being claimed under this section, was executed, and (b) the conditions referred to in subsection (2), (3) or (4) are satisfied.
\nAmendment of section 91 (new dwellinghouses and apartments with floor area certificate) of Principal Act.
\n71.—Section 91 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(3) This section shall apply as respects instruments executed before 1 April 2004.”.
\nNew dwellinghouses and apartments with floor area compliance certificate.
\n72.—(1) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 91: “91A.—(1) (a) In this section— ‘floor area compliance certificate’, in respect of a dwellinghouse or apartment, means a certificate issued by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government certifying that that Minister is satisfied, on the basis of the information available to that Minister at the time of so certifying, that— (i) the total floor area of the dwellinghouse or apartment— (I) does not, or will not, exceed 125 square metres, and (II) is not, or will not, be less than 38 square metres, and (ii) the dwellinghouse or apartment complies or will comply with such conditions, if any, as may be set down in regulations made by that Minister from time to time for the purposes of this section; ‘valid floor area compliance certificate’ means a floor area compliance certificate which has not been withdrawn. (b) For the purposes of this section the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government— (i) may make regulations from time to time— (I) specifying the manner in which the total floor area of a dwellinghouse or apartment is to be measured, and (II) setting down conditions in relation to standards of construction of dwellinghouses and apartments and the provision of water, sewerage and other services therein, (ii) may issue a floor area compliance certificate in respect of a dwellinghouse or apartment to a person where that Minister is satisfied, on the basis of information provided to that Minister by the person, or by a person on behalf of the person, that the person is registered for value-added tax and is the holder of a current certificate of authorisation within the meaning of section 530
\nAmendment of section 92 (new dwellinghouses and apartments with no floor area certificate) of Principal Act.
\n73.—(1) Section 92 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1)(a)(iii) by substituting “sections 29, 53, 91 and 91A” for “sections 29, 53 and 91”, (b) by substituting the following for subsection (1)(b)(i): “(i) the instrument— (I) is one to which section 29 or 53, applies and that sections 91 and 91A do not apply, or (II) gives effect to the purchase of a dwellinghouse or apartment on the erection of that dwellinghouse or apartment and that sections 29, 53, 91 and 91A do not apply, (ia) on the date of execution of the instrument there exists a certificate, signed by such person or class of persons as may be set down in regulations made by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from time to time for the purposes of this section, stating that the total floor area of the dwellinghouse or apartment does or will exceed 125 square metres, and”, and (c) by inserting the following after subsection (2): “(3) The furnishing of an incorrect statement within the meaning of subsection (1)(b) shall be deemed to constitute the delivery of an incorrect statement for the purposes of section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .
\nIntellectual property.
\n74.—(1) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for section 101: “101.—(1) In this section— ‘intellectual property’ means— (a) any patent, trade mark, registered design, design right, invention or domain name, (b) any copyright or related right within the meaning of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 , (c) any supplementary protection certificate provided for under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1768/92 of 18 June 19921 , (d) any supplementary protection certificate provided for under Regulation (EC) No. 1610/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 19962 , (e) any plant breeders' rights within the meaning of section 4 of the Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) Act 1980 , as amended by the Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) (Amendment) Act 1998 , (f) any application for the grant or registration of anything within paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), (g) any licence or other right in respect of anything within paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f), (h) any rights granted under the law of any country, territory, state or area, other than the State, or under any international treaty, convention or agreement to which the State is a party, that correspond to or are similar to those within paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g), (i) goodwill to the extent that it is directly attributable to anything within paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) or (h).
\nAmendment of section 125 (certain premiums of insurance) of Principal Act.
\n75.—(1) Section 125 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after paragraph (d) of the definition of “excluded amount”: “(e) a premium received in respect of a contract of insurance, the sole purpose of which is to provide for the making of payments for the reimbursement or discharge in whole or in part of fees or charges in respect of the provision of dental services, other than those involving surgical procedures carried out in a hospital by way of hospital in-patient services within the meaning of section 2
\nCapital Acquisitions Tax Interpretation (Part 5).
\n76.—In this Part “Principal Act” means the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 .
\nAmendment of section 2 (general interpretation) of Principal Act.
\n77.—Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (5), by deleting “in lawful wedlock”.
\nAmendment of section 93 (relevant business property) of Principal Act.
\n78.—(1) Section 93 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (4): “(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply to shares in or securities of a company if— (a) the business of the company consists wholly or mainly in being a holding company of one or more companies whose business does not fall within that subsection, or (b) the value of those shares or securities, without having regard to the provisions of section 99, is wholly or mainly attributable, directly or indirectly, to businesses that do not fall within that subsection.”.
\nAmendment of section 106 (arrangements for relief from double taxation) of Principal Act.
\n79.—Section 106 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for subsection (1): “(1) If the Government by order declare that arrangements specified in the order have been made with the government of any territory outside the State in relation to— (a) affording relief from double taxation in respect of gift tax or inheritance tax payable under the laws of the State and any tax imposed under the laws of that territory which is of a similar character or is chargeable by reference to death or to gifts inter vivos, or (b) exchanging information for the purposes of the prevention and detection of tax evasion in respect of the taxes specified in paragraph (a), and that it is expedient that those arrangements should have the force of law, the arrangements shall, notwithstanding anything in any enactment, have the force of law.”.
\nMiscellaneous Interpretation (Part 6).
\n80.—In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .
\nSale of certain objects to Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.
\n81.—(1)
\nAmendment of section 912A (information for tax authorities in other territories) of Principal Act.
\n82.—Section 912A (inserted by the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1), in the definition of “foreign tax” by inserting “or section 106 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 ” after “section 826”.
\nAmendment of Part 22 (provisions relating to dealing in or developing land and disposals of development land) of Principal Act.
\n83.—(1) Part 22 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 644A(1) in the definition of “residential development land” by substituting “the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts 1963 to 1999 or the Planning and Development Act 2000 ,” for “ section 26 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 ,”, and (b) in section 648— (i) by inserting the following after the definition of “the Act of 1963”: “‘the Act of 2000’ means the Planning and Development Act 2000 ;”, (ii) in the definition of “current use value” by substituting “(within the meaning of section 3 of the Act of 1963, or, on or after 21 January 2002, within the meaning of section 3 of the Act of 2000)” for “(within the meaning of section 3 of the Act of 1963)”, and (iii) by substituting the following for the definition of “development of a minor nature”: “ ‘development of a minor nature’ means development (not being development by a local authority or a statutory undertaker within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 1963, or, on or after 11 March 2002, within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2000) which, under or by virtue of section 4 of the Act of 1963, or, on or after 11 March 2002, under or by virtue of section 4 of the Act of 2000, is exempted development for the purposes of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts 1963 to 1999 or the Act of 2000;”.
\nAmendment of section 962 (recovery by sheriff or county registrar) of Principal Act.