Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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190. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of VAT owed by a person (details supplied) in County Cork based on returns that have been made; if he will examine if the person was required to be VAT registered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44285/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the person in question is currently registered for Value-Added Tax.  As VAT is a self-assessment tax, the obligation is always on the taxpayer to self-assess his liability.  At this current time, no VAT returns have been filed in respect of any periods after 1 May 2012, and therefore Revenue is not in a position to state the amount of VAT owed by the taxpayer.

All taxpayers are required to register for VAT if their turnover is expected to exceed certain thresholds, which at the current time is €37,500 per annum in respect of the supply of services.  Additionally, a taxpayer may elect to register for VAT if their turnover is below this amount. 

The taxpayer in question first registered for VAT with effect from 1 October 2005, and on the basis of his returns, Revenue can confirm that he was at that time an accountable person under the VAT Acts and was therefore required to be registered for VAT.  He filed VAT returns up to and including the period ending 30 April 2010 and then cancelled his registration number, as he informed Revenue that he had ceased to trade. 

In early 2011, he applied to re-register for VAT, but as the expected turnover per the taxpayer was below the threshold figure of €37,500, the application was returned to him and he was advised that he was not obliged to register for VAT, but that if he wished to elect to register, he was entitled to do so.  He re-submitted his application form in February 2012 and he was accordingly re-registered with effect from 13 February 2012.  He subsequently filed a return for the VAT period 1 January to 30 April 2012, but having not filed any returns since then, Revenue cannot know the extent of his turnover and therefore cannot deduce whether or not he is required by law to be VAT registered.

The taxpayer should contact Ms Karen Drake at 021-6027268 in the Cork Revenue office to discuss his current tax status for VAT, including the issues of registration and outstanding returns.