Registration
VALUE-ADDED TAX CONSOLIDATION ACT
Chapter 3 Supply of services (ss. 25-28)
25.
Meaning of supply of services.
(1)In this Act “supply”, in relation to a service, means the performance or omission of any act or the toleration of any situation other than –
(a)the supply of goods, and
(b)a transaction specified in section 20 or 22(2).
(2)[deleted]
26.
Transfer of intangible business assets deemed not to be supply of services.
(1)For the purposes of this section “accountable person” shall not include a person who is an accountable person solely by virtue of section 9, 10, 12, 14(1) or 17(1).
(2)The transfer of goodwill or other intangible assets of a business, in connection with the transfer of the business or part thereof (even if that business or that part thereof had ceased trading), or in connection with a transfer of ownership of goods in accordance with section 20(2)(c), by –
(a)an accountable person to a taxable person who carries on a business in the State, or
(b)a person who is not an accountable person to another person,
shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, not to be a supply of services.
27.
Self-supply of services.
(1)For the purposes of this Act, any of the following, if so provided by regulations, and in accordance with those regulations, shall be deemed to be a supply of services by a person for consideration in the course or furtherance of that person’s business:
(a)the use of goods (other than immovable goods) forming part of the assets of a business –
(i)for the private use of an accountable person or of such person’s staff, or
(ii)for any purposes other than those of an accountable person’s business,
where the tax on those goods is wholly or partly deductible;
(b)the supply of services carried out free of charge by an accountable person for such person’s own private use or that of such person’s staff or for any purposes other than those of such person’s business;
(c)the supply of services by an accountable person for the purposes of such person’s business where the tax on such services, were they supplied by another accountable person, would not be wholly deductible.
(2)Subject to subsection (3), the use of immovable goods forming part of the assets of a business –
(a)for the private use of an accountable person or of such person’s staff, or
(b)for any purpose other than those of the accountable person’s business,
is a taxable supply of services if –
(i)that use occurs during a period of 20 years following the acquisition or development of those goods by the accountable person, and
(ii)those goods are treated for tax purposes as forming part of the assets of the business at the time of their acquisition or development.
(3)Subsection (2) does not apply in the case of immovable goods that are acquired or developed by an accountable person on or after 1 January 2011.
28.
Special rules in relation to supplies of services.
(1)The supply of services through a person (in this subsection referred to as the “agent”) who, while purporting to act on his or her own behalf, concludes agreements in his or her own name but on the instructions of, and for the account of, another person, shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to constitute a supply of the services to and simultaneously by the agent.
(2)Where services are supplied by a person and the person is not legally entitled to recover consideration in respect of or in relation to that supply but moneys are received in respect of or in relation to such supply, then, for the purposes of this Act –
(a)the services in question shall be deemed to have been supplied for consideration, and
(b)the moneys received shall be deemed to be consideration that the person who supplied the services in question became entitled to receive in respect of or in relation to the supply of those services.
(3)Where a person is indemnified under a policy of insurance in respect of any amount payable in respect of services of a barrister or solicitor, those services shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be supplied to, and received by, such person.
(4)Where, in the case of a business carried on, or that has ceased to be carried on, by an accountable person, services (being services that are supplied using the assets or part of the assets of an accountable person) are, under any power exercisable by another person (including a receiver or liquidator), supplied by that other person in or towards the satisfaction of a debt owed by the accountable person, or in the course of winding up of a company, then those services shall be deemed to be supplied by the accountable person in the course or furtherance of his or her business.
(5)Where another person (including a receiver or liquidator), under any power exercisable by that other person, in or towards the satisfaction of a debt owed by a taxable person, or in the course of winding up of a company –
(a)makes a supply consisting of a letting of immovable goods, being the assets or part of the assets of the taxable person, and
(b)that other person exercises an option to tax that letting in accordance with section 97(1)(a)(i),
then that taxable person shall be deemed to have supplied that letting and to have exercised the option to tax.
Part 4 Place of Taxable Transactions (ss. 29-35A)
Chapter 1
Place of supply of goods (ss. 29-31)
29.
General rules.
(1)For the purposes of this Act, the place where goods are supplied shall be deemed to be –
(a)in the case of goods dispatched or transported and to which section 30 does not apply, subject to subsection (2), the place where the dispatch or transportation to the person to whom the goods are supplied begins,
(b)in the case of goods which are installed or assembled, with or without a trial run, by or on behalf of the supplier, the place where the goods are installed or assembled,
(c)in the case of goods not dispatched or transported, the place where the goods are located at the time of supply,
(d)in the case of goods supplied on board vessels, aircraft or trains during transport, the places of departure and destination of which are within the Community, the place where the transport begins.
(2)Where goods referred to in subsection (1)(a) are dispatched or transported from a place outside the Community, then, for the purposes of this Act, the place of supply by the person who imports those goods and the place of any subsequent supplies shall be deemed to be where the goods are imported.
30.
Goods supplied to non-registered persons.
Notwithstanding section 29(1)(a) or (2), for the purposes of this Act, the place where goods are supplied shall be deemed to be –
((a)subject to section 35A, in the case of an intra-Community distance sale of goods, the place where the goods are located when the dispatch or transport of the goods to the customer ends,
(b)in the case of distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries into a Member State other than that in which the dispatch or transport of the goods to the customer ends, the place where the goods are located when the dispatch or transport of the goods to the customer ends;
(c)in the case of distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries into the Member State in which the dispatch or transport of the goods to the customer ends, that Member State, provided that the value-added tax on those goods is declared under the provisions implementing Section 4 of Chapter 6 of Title XII of the VAT Directive in that Member State.
31.
Gas and electricity supplies.
(1)
(a)In this subsection “taxable dealer” means an accountable person whose principal business in respect of supplies of gas through the natural gas distribution system, of heat or cooling energy through heating or cooling networks, 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.
(b)For the purposes of this Act, the place where goods are supplied shall be deemed to be –
(i)in the case of the supply of gas through the natural gas distribution system, of heat or cooling energy through heating or cooling networks, or of electricity, to a taxable dealer, whether in the State, in another Member State of the Community or outside the Community –
(I)the place where that taxable dealer has established the business concerned or has a fixed establishment for which the goods are supplied,
(II)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,
(ii)in the case of the supply of gas through the natural gas distribution system situated within the territory of the Community or any network connected to such a system, of heat or cooling energy through heating or cooling networks, or of electricity, to a customer other than a taxable dealer, the place where that customer has effective use and consumption of those goods.
(2)Where all or part of the goods referred to in subsection (1)(b)(ii) are not consumed by the customer referred to in that subsection, then, for the purposes of this Act, the goods not so consumed shall be deemed to have been supplied to that customer and used and consumed by that customer –
(a)at the place where the customer has established the business concerned or has a fixed establishment for which the goods are supplied,
(b)in the absence of such a place of business or fixed establishment, at the place where the customer has a permanent address or usually resides.
Chapter 2 Place of intra-Community transactions (ss. 32-32A)
32.
Intra-Community acquisitions of goods.
(1)The place where an intra-Community acquisition of goods occurs shall be deemed to be the place where the goods are when the dispatch or transportation ends.
(2)Without prejudice to subsection (1) but subject to subsection (3), when the person acquiring the goods quotes his or her value-added tax registration number for the purpose of the acquisition, the place where an intra-Community acquisition of goods occurs shall be deemed to be within the territory of the Member State which issued that registration number, unless the person acquiring the goods can establish that such acquisition has been subject to value-added tax referred to in the VAT Directive in accordance with subsection (1).
(3)Subsection (2) shall not apply where –
(a)the person quotes the registration number assigned to him or her in accordance with section 65 for the purpose of making an intra-Community acquisition and the goods are dispatched or transported from the territory of a Member State directly to the territory of another Member State, neither of which is the State,
(b)the person makes a subsequent supply of the goods to a person registered for value-added tax in the Member State where the dispatch or transportation ends,
(c)the person issues an invoice in relation to that supply –
(i)in such form and containing such particulars as would be required in accordance with section 66(1) if he or she made the supply of the goods in the State to a person registered for value-added tax in another Member State,
(ii)containing an explicit reference to the EC simplified triangulation arrangements, and
(iii)indicating that the recipient of that supply is liable to account for the value-added tax due in that Member State,
and
(d)in accordance with regulations, the person includes a reference to the supply in the statement referred to in section 82 as if it were an intra-Community supply for the purposes of that section.
32A.
Chain transactions.
(1)In this section –
‘chain transaction’ means a series of successive supplies of the same goods where those goods are dispatched or transported from one Member State to another Member State, directly from the first supplier of the goods to the last customer in the chain;
‘intermediary operator’ means a supplier in a chain transaction, other than the first supplier, who dispatches or transports the goods or engages a third party to dispatch or transport the goods on his or her behalf.
(2)Subject to subsection (3), in a chain transaction, the dispatch or transport of the goods shall be ascribed only to the supply made to the intermediary operator.
(3)Where the intermediary operator provides to his or her supplier a value-added tax identification number, issued to that intermediary operator by the Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported, the dispatch or transport of the goods shall be ascribed only to the supply made by that intermediary operator.
(4)This section does not apply to transactions in which a taxable person facilitates (within the meaning of section 91G(1)), through the use of an electronic interface such as a marketplace, platform, portal or similar means, the supply of goods and is the deemed supplier of those goods under Article 14a of the VAT Directive.
Chapter 3
Place of supply of services (ss. 33-35)
33. Application and interpretation of section 34.
(1)For the purpose of applying section 34, every person registered for value-added tax is a taxable person.
(2)In section 34(c) a supply of services connected with immovable goods includes –
(a)a supply of services by experts or estate agents,
(b)a provision of accommodation in a hotel or guesthouse or in an establishment having a similar function, or in a holiday camp or a site developed for use as a camping site,
(ba)the supply of telecommunications services, radio or television broadcasting services or electronically supplied services, together with the provision of accommodation of the kind specified in paragraph (b), where the supply is by the provider of that accommodation acting in his or her own name, and
(c)a supply of services involving the preparation and co-ordination of construction work (including a supply of services of architects and of persons who provide on-site supervision).
(3)In section 34(e) “intra-Community transport of goods” means any transport of goods in respect of which the place of departure and the place of arrival are located within the territories of 2 different Member States.
(4)In section 34(k) “short-term” means the continuous possession or use of a means of transport throughout a period of not more than 30 days or, if the means of transport is a vessel, not more than 90 days.
(4A)In paragraphs (ka) and (kb) of section 34 ‘long-term’ means the continuous possession or use of a means of transport throughout a period of more than 30 days or, if the means of transport is a vessel, more than 90 days.
(4B)[deleted]
(5)The following services are specified for the purpose of section 34(m):
(a)services that consist of transferring or assigning copyrights, patents, licences, trade marks and similar rights;
(b)advertising services;
(c)the services of consultants, engineers, consultancy firms, lawyers, accountants and other similar services, as well as data processing and the provision of information;
(d)services that consist of obligations to refrain from pursuing or exercising, wholly or partly, a business activity or a right referred to in this subsection;
(e)services that consist of financial transactions (including banking transactions and financial fund management transactions but excluding the provision of safe deposit facilities) or insurance transactions (including reinsurance transactions);
(f)services that consist of supplying staff;
(g)services that consist of hiring out movable tangible property (other than a means of transport);
(h)services that consist of the provision of access to a natural gas distribution system situated within the territory of the Community or to any network connected to such a system, to the electricity system or to the heating or cooling networks, or the transmission or distribution through these systems or networks, and the provision of other services directly linked to those systems;
(i)telecommunications services;
(j)radio or television broadcasting services;
(k)electronically supplied services.
34.
General rules.
The following rules apply to determine the place where, for the purposes of this Act, services are supplied:
(a)except as provided by paragraphs (c), (d), (g), (i), (j) and (k), the place of supply of services to a taxable person acting as such is –
(i)subject to subparagraph (ii), the place where the person’s business is established,
(ii)if the services are supplied to a fixed establishment of the person located in a place other than the place where the business is established, the place where the fixed establishment is located,
(iii)if there is no such place of business or fixed establishment, the place where the permanent address or usual place of residence of the taxable person who receives the services is located;
(b)except as provided by paragraphs (c) to (n), the place of supply of services to a non-taxable person is –
(i)subject to subparagraph (ii), the place where the supplier’s business is established,
(ii)if the services are supplied from a fixed establishment of the supplier located at a place other than the place where the supplier’s business is established, the place where the fixed establishment is located,
(iii)if there is no such place of business or fixed establishment, the place where the permanent address or usual place of residence of the supplier is located;
(c)if the supply of services is connected with immovable goods, or is the grant of a right to use those goods, the place where those goods are located;
(d)if the supply of services is the provision of passenger transport, the place or the places where the transport takes place;
(e)if the supply of services is the provision of the transport of goods to a non-taxable person and is not an intra-Community transport of goods, the place or places where the transport takes place;
(f)if the supply of services is the provision of intra-Community transport of goods to a non-taxable person, the place of departure of those goods (being the place where the transport of the goods actually begins) irrespective of the distance covered by the means of transport in order to reach the place where the goods are located;
(g)if the supply of services, and of any ancillary services, is in respect of or related to admission to a cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar event, such as a fair or exhibition (including the supply of tickets granting access to such an event), and the supply is to a taxable person, the place where that event actually takes place;
(ga)if the supply of services, and of any ancillary services, is in respect of or related to a cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar activity, such as a fair or exhibition (including the supply of services of the organiser of such an activity or the supply of tickets granting access to such an activity), and the supply is to a non-taxable person, the place where that activity actually takes place;
(h)if the supply of services is to a non-taxable person and consists of –
(i)ancillary transport activities, such as loading, unloading and handling goods,
(ii)carrying out valuations of, or work on, movable goods, or
(iii)contract work,
the place where those services are physically carried out;
(i)if the supply of services is the provision of restaurant or catering services (other than those referred to in paragraph (j)), the place where those services are physically carried out;
(j)if the supply of services is the provision of restaurant or catering services that are physically carried out on board a ship, aircraft or train during a section of a passenger transport operation undertaken within the Community and the first scheduled point of departure within the Community of that transport operation is in the State, the State;
(k)if the supply of services consists of a short-term hiring out of a means of transport, the place where the means of transport is actually placed at the disposal of the customer;
(ka)subject to paragraph (kb), if the supply of services consists of a long-term hiring out of a means of transport to a non-taxable person, the place where that person is established or has a permanent address or usually resides;
(kb)if –
(i)the supply of services consists of a long-term hiring out of a pleasure boat to a non-taxable person, and
(ii)that service is actually provided by the supplier from his or her place of business or a fixed establishment situated in that place,
the place where the pleasure boat is actually put at the disposal of the customer;
(kc)subject to section 35A, if the supply of services consists of the provision of –
(i)telecommunications services,
(ii)radio or television broadcasting services, or
(iii)electronically supplied services,
(other than the provision of those services to which paragraph (c) relates) to a non-taxable person, the place where that person is established, has a permanent address or usually resides;
(kd)[deleted]
(l)[deleted]
(m)if the supply of services consists of a supply of services specified in section 33(5) and the supply is to a non-taxable person –
(i)who is established outside the Community,
(ii)whose permanent address is outside the Community, or
(iii)who usually resides outside the Community,
the place where the person is established, has a permanent address or usually resides;
(n)if the supply of services is the provision of services to a non-taxable person by an intermediary acting in the name and on behalf of another person, the place where the underlying transaction is supplied.
35.
Use and enjoyment provisions.
(1)Where, in the case of a supply of services that consists of hiring out movable goods, the place of supply of the services would, apart from this subsection, be a place outside the Community but the services are in effect used and enjoyed in the State, the place of supply of those services is nevertheless taken to be the State for the purposes of this Act.
(2)Where, in the case of a supply of services that consists of hiring out a means of transport, the place of supply of the services would, apart from this subsection, be the State but those services are in effect used and enjoyed outside the Community, the place of supply of those services is nevertheless taken to be outside the Community for the purposes of this Act.
(3)Where, in the case of a supply of services that consists of the provision to a non-taxable person of a telecommunications service, a radio or a television broadcasting service or a telephone card, the place of supply of the service or card would, apart from this subsection, be outside the Community but the service is in effect used and enjoyed in the State, the place of supply is nevertheless taken to be the State for the purposes of this Act.
(4)Where, in the case of a supply of services that consists of the provision by a taxable person established in the State of a telecommunications service or a telephone card to a non-taxable person, the place of supply of the service or card would, apart from this subsection, be outside the Community but the service is in effect used and enjoyed in the State, the place of supply is taken to be the State for the purposes of this Act.
(5)Where, in the case of a supply of services that consists of the provision to a non-taxable person of financial services (including banking services and financial fund management services but not including the provision of safe deposit facilities) or insurance services (including reinsurance), the place of supply of the services would, apart from this subsection, be a place outside the Community but the services are in effect used and enjoyed in the State, the place of supply is nevertheless taken to be the State for the purposes of this Act.
(6)Where money transfer services provided to a person in the State are in effect used and enjoyed in the State, the place of supply of intermediary services that are provided in respect of, or in relation to, those services to a principal established outside the Community, is taken to be the State for the purposes of this Act.
Chapter 4
Place of supply for certain taxable persons making supplies of intra-Community distance sales of goods and supplies of telecommunication services, radio or television broadcasting services or electronically supplied services (s. 35A)
35A.
(1)Subject to subsection (3), sections 30(a) and 34(kc) shall not apply to –
(a)intra-Community distance sales of goods, or
(b)supplies of telecommunications services, radio or television broadcasting services or electronically supplied services,
made by a taxable person where –
(i)the taxable person is established or, in the absence of an establishment, has his or her permanent address or usually resides in the State only,
(ii)the goods referred to in paragraph (a) are dispatched or transported to a Member State other than the State, or services referred to in paragraph (b) are supplied to a non- taxable person who is established, has his or her permanent address or usually resides in a Member State other than the State, and
(iii)the total value of the supplies, exclusive of value-added tax, of goods referred to in paragraph (a) and services referred to in paragraph (b) does not in the current calendar year, and did not in the previous calendar year, exceed €10,000.
(2)Subject to subsections (3) and (4), where subsection (1) applies –
(a)section 29(1)(a) shall apply to intra-Community distances sales of goods, and
(b)section 34(b) shall apply to the supply of telecommunications services, radio or television broadcasting services or electronically supplied services.
(3)Where, during a calendar year, the threshold referred to in subsection (1)(iii) is exceeded, sections 30(a) and 34(kc) shall apply from the date on which that threshold is exceeded.
(4)
(a)A taxable person in respect of whom subsection (1) applies may opt for the place of supply of the supplies of goods referred to in subsection (1)(a) and services referred to in subsection (1)(b) to be determined in accordance with sections 30(a) and 34(kc).
(b)Where a taxable person exercises the option provided for in paragraph (a), that option shall apply for a period of not less than 2 calendar years from the date on which the option is exercised.
Part 9
Obligations of Accountable Persons (ss. 65-85)
Chapter 1 Registration (s. 65)
65.
Registration.
(1)The Revenue Commissioners shall set up and maintain a register of persons –
(a)who are, or who may become, accountable persons, or
(b)who are persons who dispose of goods or supply services which pursuant to section 22(3) or 28(4) or (5) are deemed to be supplied by an accountable person in the course or furtherance of his or her business.
(2)The Revenue Commissioners shall assign a registration number to each person registered in accordance with subsection (1).
(2A)The Revenue Commissioners may cancel the registration number which has been assigned to a person in accordance with subsection (2), where that person does not become or ceases to be an accountable person.
(3)
(a)Every accountable person shall, within the period of 30 days beginning on the day on which the person first becomes an accountable person, furnish in writing to the Revenue Commissioners the particulars specified in regulations as being required for the purpose of registering the person for tax.
(b)Where an accountable person, when registering for tax, has furnished particulars specified in regulations referred to in paragraph (a) stating that he or she shall not engage in intra-Community trade, and the person subsequently engages in intra-Community trade, that person shall, within the period of 30 days beginning on the date on which he or she first engages in intra-Community trade, notify the Revenue Commissioners in writing of such an engagement.
(c)Where an accountable person notifies the Revenue Commissioners under paragraph (b) regarding his or her engagement in intra-Community trade, the Revenue Commissioners shall request that person to correct the particulars furnished as specified in regulations referred to in paragraph (a).
(d)In this subsection, ‘intra-Community trade’ means –
(i)the intra-Community supply of goods made by an accountable person and dispatched or transported from the State to a person registered for value-added tax in another Member State, or
(ii)the intra-Community acquisition of goods.
(4)Every person who disposes of goods or supplies services which pursuant to section 22(3) or 28(4) or (5) are deemed to be supplied by an accountable person in the course of his or her business shall, within 14 days of the disposal or the supply of a service, furnish in writing to the Revenue Commissioners the particulars specified in regulations as being required for the purpose of registering the person for tax.
Chapter 2 Invoicing (ss. 66-73)
Chapter 3
Returns and payment of tax (ss. 74-79)