Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This involves a contractor who has not made a return under section 5, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in a case in which the company is in liquidation or the person has left the country. Whatever the reason, a person has made the claim and is entitled to tax relief because the work was carried out by a contractor deemed to be qualified and the work was deemed to be relevant by the Revenue Commissioners. There should be no delay in processing the person's claim. The Minister provided clarification on Committee Stage that, in the event of a contractor not fulfilling the terms of section 5, the claim would be paid; therefore, the individual cannot be denied tax relief as a result of the contractor not complying with the terms of section 5(a) and penalties will not be imposed on the contractor. The amendment addresses the delay that might result through the contractor not complying with the provisions of section 5(a).

What is the process under legislation whereby the Revenue Commissioners make a payment where the contractor has not complied with the provisions of section 5(a)? It may be a case of the contractor refusing to comply, going out of business or being in liquidation or that he or she has passed away. What is the process involved in making the payment? The claims process is dependent on a number of steps, including the contractor being eligible, the contractor providing the unique reference number from the Revenue Commissioners for the individual, the contractor informing the Revenue Commissioners of the receipt of payment and the amount, and the individual making the claim. For reasons that are or are not genuine, where the third step is not taken - the contractor stating how much was paid for the work - I can see a delay in processing the claim of the individual who has had the work carried out and complied with the law. That is why my amendment includes the following:

Where a qualifying contractor has not fulfilled the provisions set out in this subsection, the Revenue Commissioners, upon receipt of a claim from a claimant shall inform the contractor of the claim and final stated payment and inform the contractor that they are obliged to fulfil the requirements as stated in this section. Contractors will have 10 working days to dispute the payment claim, at which point the Revenue will process the claim, once legitimate receipts are provided.

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