Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not propose to accept the amendment. A number of issues arise. The relationship between the homeowner and the contractor is important from the outset. The first thing a homeowner must do before engaging a contractor is to ensure the contractor is tax compliant. The homeowner should ask to see the building contractor’s up-to-date notification of determination of relevant contracts tax, RCT, rate. This must be 0% or 20% for the contractor to qualify to carry out work under the incentive. Alternatively, an in date tax clearance certificate is also acceptable until such time as Revenue’s new online system is in place. If the contractor is not tax compliant, he or she is not eligible to operate under the incentive and any work carried out by him or her will not qualify.

When a homeowner makes a payment to a contractor, the contractor is required to provide a receipt or a statement showing the amount of the payment. The VAT amount must be identified separately. It is important in building a relationship with a contractor there be a common understanding that for the homeowner to get relief, the contractor is required to notify Revenue of the works and the payment made by the homeowner. When the Revenue electronic system comes onstream early next year, it will be possible for homeowners to track whether the contractor meets his or her obligations in terms of notifying Revenue of works and payments. This should mean a situation where a homeowner would only become aware at the claim stage that a contractor had failed to meet his or her obligations would not arise.

I should add that any failure by a contractor to meet his or her obligations is an offence subject to a fine of €3,000. Also, a failure to meet the obligations under the incentive could render the contractor in a position where he or she would not be tax compliant. This would rule a contractor outside the terms of the incentive and, therefore, he or she would not be a qualifying contractor. The net position is the contractor would be acting improperly and outside the terms of the scheme and subject to penalties but the claimant's claim would still be eligible, provided late notification was the only issue. The onus is on the claimant to establish in the first instance that the contractor is tax compliant. If the contractor was not tax compliant, the claim would be void.