PART VIII.

Penalties and Assessments: Income Tax, Sur-tax and Corporation Profits Tax.

72. —The following provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect in relation to any penalties incurred (whether by commission or omission) after the passing of this Act with respect to any year of assessment, or, as the case may be, accounting period, whether ending before or ending after such passing.

73. —(1) Where any person—

(a) has been required, by notice or precept given under or for the purposes of any of the provisions specified in the first or second column of the Third Schedule to this Act, to deliver any return, statement, declaration, list or other document, to furnish any particulars, to produce any document, or to make anything available for inspection, and he fails to comply with the notice or precept, or

(b) fails to do any act, furnish any particulars or deliver any account in accordance with any of the provisions specified in the third column of that Schedule,

he shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section and section 76 of this Act, be liable to a penalty of one hundred pounds and, if the failure continues after judgment has been given by the court before which proceedings for the penalty have been commenced, to a further penalty of ten pounds for each day on which the failure so continues.

(2) Where the said notice was given under or for the purposes of any of the provisions specified in the first column of the said Schedule and the failure continues after the end of the year of assessment following that during which the notice was given, the first of the penalties mentioned in subsection (1) of this section shall be two hundred and fifty pounds.

(3) The preceding provisions of this section shall have effect subject to the proviso to subsection (4) of section 100 and the proviso to subsection (1) of section 105 of the Income Tax Act, 1918.

74. —(1) Where a person fraudulently or negligently—

(a) delivers any incorrect return or statement of a kind mentioned in any of the provisions specified in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act,

(b) makes any incorrect return, statement or declaration in connection with any claim for any allowance, deduction or relief, or

(c) submits to the Revenue Commissioners, the Special Commissioners or an inspector of taxes any incorrect accounts in connection with the ascertainment of his liability to income tax (including sur-tax),

he shall, subject to section 76 of this Act, be liable to a penalty of—

(i) one hundred pounds, and

(ii) the amount, or, in the case of fraud, twice the amount, of the difference specified in subsection (1) of section 75 of this Act.

(2) Where a person fraudulently or negligently furnishes, gives, produces or makes any incorrect return, information, certificate, document, record, statement, particulars, account or declaration of a kind mentioned in any of the provisions specified in the second or third column of the Third Schedule to this Act, he shall, subject to section 76 of this Act, be liable to a penalty of one hundred pounds, or, in the case of fraud, of two hundred and fifty pounds.

(3) Where any such return, statement, declaration or accounts as is or are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section was or were made or submitted by a person neither fraudulently nor negligently and it comes to his notice (or, if he has died, to the notice of his personal representatives) that it or they was or were incorrect, then, unless the error is remedied without unreasonable delay, the return, statement, declaration or accounts shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been negligently made or submitted by him.

(4) Subject to subsection (2) of section 77 of this Act, proceedings for the recovery of any penalty under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall not be out of time by reason that they are commenced after the time allowed by subsection (1) of section 10 of the Finance Act, 1925 .

75. —(1) The difference referred to in paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of section 74 of this Act is the difference between—

(a) the amount of tax payable for the relevant years of assessment by the said person (including any amount deducted at source and not repayable), and

(b) the amount which would have been the amount so payable if the return, statement, declaration or accounts as made or submitted by him had been correct.

(2) The relevant years of assessment for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section are, in relation to anything delivered, made or submitted in any year of assessment, that year, the next following year, and any preceding year of assessment; and the references in that subsection to the amount of tax payable include sur-tax, except that, in relation to anything done in connection with a partnership, they do not include any tax not chargeable in the partnership name.

(3) For the purposes of section 74 of this Act, any accounts submitted on behalf of a person shall be deemed to have been submitted by that person unless he proves that they were submitted without his consent or knowledge.

76. —(1) Where the person mentioned in section 73 of this Act is a body of persons as defined by section 237 of the Income Tax Act, 1918—

(a) the body of persons shall be liable to—

(i) in case the notice was given under or for the purposes of any of the provisions specified in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act and the failure continues after the end of the year of assessment following that during which the notice was given—a penalty of one thousand pounds, and

(ii) in any other case—a penalty of five hundred pounds,

and, if the failure continues after judgment has been given by the court before which proceedings for the penalty have been commenced, a further penalty of fifty pounds for each day on which the failure so continues, and

(b) the secretary shall be liable to—

(i) in case the notice was given under or for the purposes of any of the provisions specified in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act and the failure continues after the end of the year of assessment following that during which the notice was given—a separate penalty of two hundred pounds, and

(ii) in any other case—a separate penalty of one hundred pounds.

(2) Where the person mentioned in section 74 of this Act is a body of persons as defined by section 237 of the Income Tax Act, 1918—

(a) in the case of such fraud or negligence as is mentioned in subsection (1) of that section—

(i) the body of persons shall be liable to a penalty of—

(I) five hundred pounds, and

(II) the amount, or, in the case of fraud, twice the amount, of the difference specified in subsection (1) of section 75 of this Act, and

(ii) the secretary shall be liable to a separate penalty of one hundred pounds, or, in the case of fraud, two hundred pounds,

(b) in the case of any such fraud or negligence as is mentioned in subsection (2) of that section—

(i) the body of persons shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred pounds, or, in the case of fraud, one thousand pounds, and

(ii) the secretary shall be liable to a separate penalty of one hundred pounds, or, in the case of fraud, two hundred pounds.

(3) The preceding provisions of this section shall have effect subject to the proviso to subsection (4) of section 100 and the proviso to subsection (1) of section 105 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, but otherwise shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in that Act.

77. —(1) Where the person who has incurred any penalty has died after the passing of this Act, any proceedings under this Act which have been or could have been commenced against him may be continued or commenced against his executor or administrator, as the case may be, and any penalty awarded in proceedings so continued or commenced shall be a debt due from and payable out of his estate.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 10 of the Finance Act, 1925 , shall, in relation to proceedings commenced by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, have effect as if “not later than three years after the expiration of the year of assessment in which the deceased person died in a case in which the grant of probate or letters of administration was made in that year and at any time not later than two years after the expiration of the year of assessment in which such grant was made in any other case, but the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall have effect subject to the proviso that where the executor or administrator lodges a corrective affidavit for the purpose of assessment of estate duty after the year of assessment in which the deceased person died, the proceedings may be begun at any time before the expiration of two years next after the end of the year of assessment in which the corrective affidavit was lodged” were substituted for “within six years next after the date on which such fine or penalty was incurred”.

78. —Any person who assists in or induces the making or delivery for any purposes of income tax (including sur-tax) of any return, account, statement or declaration which he knows to be incorrect shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred pounds.

79. —For the purposes of this Part of this Act, any assessment which can no longer be varied by the Special Commissioners on appeal or by the order of any court shall be sufficient evidence that the income in respect of which tax is charged in the assessment arose or was received as stated therein.

80. —(1) Without prejudice to any other mode of recovery of a penalty under this Part of this Act, section 43 of the Finance Act, 1958 , or section 23 or 59 of the Finance Act, 1959 , an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, authorised by them for the purposes of this subsection, may sue in his own name by civil proceedings for the recovery of the penalty in the High Court as a liquidated sum and the provisions of section 94 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , shall apply accordingly.

(2) If an officer who has commenced proceedings pursuant to this section, or who has continued the proceedings by virtue of this subsection, dies or otherwise ceases for any reason to be an officer authorised for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section—

(a) the right of such officer to continue the proceedings shall cease and the right to continue them shall vest in such other officer so authorised as may be nominated by the Revenue Commissioners,

(b) where such other officer is nominated under paragraph (a) of this subsection, he shall be entitled accordingly to be substituted as a party to the proceedings in the place of the first-mentioned officer, and

(c) where an officer is so substituted, he shall give notice in writing of the substitution to the defendant.

(3) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate signed by a Revenue Commissioner certifying the following facts, namely, that a person is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners and that he has been authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, shall be evidence until the contrary is proved of those facts.

(4) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate signed by a Revenue Commissioner certifying the following facts, namely, that the plaintiff has ceased to be an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, that another person is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, that such other person has been authorised by them for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section and that he has been nominated by them, in relation to the proceedings, for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, shall be evidence until the contrary is proved of those facts.

(5) In proceedings pursuant to this section, a certificate certifying the facts referred to in subsection (3) or (4) of this section and purporting to be signed by a Revenue Commissioner may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed until the contrary is proved to have been so signed.

(6) Subject to this section, the rules of the High Court for the time being applicable to civil proceedings shall apply to proceedings pursuant to this section.

81. —The provisions of the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of making, with respect to corporation profits tax, provision corresponding to the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act.

82. —(1) In this Part of this Act—

“assessment” includes additional assessment;

“secretary” includes such persons as are mentioned in subsection (1) of section 106 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, and subsection (1) of section 55 of the Finance Act, 1920, and, in relation to the duty under subsection (2) of the said section 55 of giving notice of winding up, shall be construed as referring to the liquidator;

and references to this Part of this Act include references to the Fourth Schedule to this Act.

(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act, a person shall be deemed not to have failed to do anything required to be done within a limited time if he did it within such further time, if any, as the Commissioners or officer concerned may have allowed; and where a person had a reasonable excuse for not doing anything required to be done, he shall be deemed not to have failed to do it if he did it without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ceased.