Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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69. To ask the Minister for Finance if a voluntary community organisation is entitled to refund or exemption of vehicle registration tax under the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concession) Regulations 1994; if there have been any recent policy changes in respect of this exemption; and the steps an organisation should take if problems are encountered with the Revenue Commissioners. [35786/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Regulation 12 of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1994 (S.I. 353 of 1994) provides that a qualifying organisation may, under the conditions contained therein, receive remission or repayment of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and VAT. Regulation (2)(1) of S.I. 353 of 1994 provides that a qualifying organisation means a philanthropic organisation which is not funded primarily by the State and which is chiefly engaged, in a voluntary capacity on a non-commercial basis, in the care and transport of severely and permanently disabled persons. Regulation 3 of S.I. 353 of 1994 provides for the criteria which shall determine whether a person is a severely and permanently disabled person under S.I. 353 of 1994.

The Regulations have not been amended in respect to the definition of qualifying organisation.

In the case that Revenue  have refused a refund or exemption from VRT, an organisation may, under sections 145 and 146 of the Finance Act 2001, appeal a decision made by Revenue.

The first stage of the appeals process consists of the re-examination of the matter under appeal by a senior manager within Revenue who was not involved in the original decision. The appeal should be made in writing within 2 months of the initial decision, and should set out in detail the grounds or reasons for the appeal and should be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation.  If the organisation is dissatisfied with the outcome of the first stage of the appeals process, it may apply, within 30 days of being notified of the first stage appeal decision, to have the case heard by the Appeal Commissioners.   

In addition, Revenue's Compliant and Review Procedures provides an open and transparent mechanism for making a complaint and seeking a review of its handling of a case. It provides initially for a Local Review followed by either an Internal or External Review. Details of the procedure are set out in a Leaflet CS4 which is available on the Revenue website. Recourse to the Compliant and Review Procedures does not interfere with the statutory appeal process already outlined.