PART II

Value-Added Tax

10. —In this Part—

“the Act of 1978” means the Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 1978 ;

“the Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 .

11. —Section 8 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (3) (inserted by the Act of 1978)—

(i) by the substitution in paragraph (b) of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii):

“(iii) supplies of goods and services, other than those referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii), the total consideration for which has not exceeded and is not likely to exceed £15,000 in any continuous period of 12 months,”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) (i) subject to subparagraph (ii), a person for whose supply of taxable goods and services the total consideration has not exceeded and is not likely to exceed £30,000 in any continuous period of 12 months,

(ii) subparagraph (i) shall apply if, but only if, not less than 90 per cent. of the total consideration referred to therein is derived from the supply of taxable goods,”,

(iii) by the deletion of paragraph (d), and

(iv) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (e):

“(e) a person, other than a person to whom paragraph (a), (b) or (c) applies, for whose supply of taxable goods and services the total consideration has not exceeded and is not likely to exceed £15,000 in any continuous period of 12 months.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) Where, by virtue of subsection (3) or (6), a person has not been a taxable person and a change of circumstances occurs from which it becomes clear that he is likely to become a taxable person, he shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be a taxable person from the beginning of the taxable period commencing next after such change.”,

(c) in subsection (6), by the substitution in paragraph (a) of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) has fallen below and remains permanently below such amount as may be appropriate in the particular case having regard to paragraph (c) or (e) of subsection (3),”,

(d) in subsection (8), by the substitution of the following for paragraph (b):

“(b) each such person may be made jointly and severally liable to comply with all the provisions of this Act and regulations (including the provisions requiring the payment of tax) that apply to those persons and subject to the penalties under this Act to which they would be subject if each such person was liable to pay to the Revenue Commissioners the whole of the tax chargeable, apart from regulations under this subsection, in respect of all such persons:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to business activities consisting of the supply of immovable goods by any such person to any other such person and, where a request is made by such persons pursuant to regulations under this subsection, such business activities shall be treated for the purposes of this Act, as if the request had not been made.”,

and

(e) in subsection (9), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d) in the definition of “farmer”:

“(d) supplies of goods and services, other than those referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), the total consideration for which has not exceeded and is not likely to exceed £15,000 in any continuous period of 12 months.”.

12. —(1) Section 11 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1) (inserted by the Act of 1978), by the substitution in paragraph (a) of “15 per cent.” for “10 per cent.”,

(b) in subsection (2) (inserted by the Act of 1978), by the substitution in paragraph (b) of “20 per cent.” for “30 per cent.”, and

(c) by the insertion after the said paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

“(c) On the supply of agricultural services consisting of—

(i) field work, reaping, mowing, threshing, baling, harvesting, sowing and planting;

(ii) disinfecting and ensilage of agricultural products;

(iii) destruction of weeds and pests and dusting and spraying of crops and land;

(iv) lopping, tree felling and similar forestry services, and

(v) land drainage and reclamation,

tax shall be chargeable at the rate specified in subsection (1) (a) on 20 per cent. of the total amount on which tax is chargeable and at the rate of zero per cent. on the balance of the said total amount.”.

(2) This section shall have, and be deemed to have had, effect as on and from the 1st day of September, 1981.

13. —(1) Section 12A (inserted by the Act of 1978) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) of “1.5 per cent.” for “1 per cent.”, and the said subsection (1), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

Where a flat-rate farmer supplies agricultural produce or an agricultural service to a person, the farmer shall, subject to section 17 (2), issue to the person an invoice indicating the consideration (exclusive of the flat-rate addition) in respect of the supply and an amount (in this Act referred to as ‘a flat-rate addition’) equal to 1.5 per cent. of the said consideration (exclusive of the said addition), and the person shall, if he is a taxable person, be entitled to treat the flat-rate addition as tax deductible under section 12 subject, however, to any restrictions imposed by or under subsection (3) or (4) of that section.

(2) This section shall have, and be deemed to have had, effect as on and from the 1st day of September, 1981.

14. —(1) In this section “qualifying service” means a service consisting of the supply, for the benefit of persons not resident in the State, under an agreement made before the 1st day of January, 1981, of sleeping accommodation, with or without board or of motor cars upon hire, boats upon hire or entertainment, at charges fixed at the time of the making of the agreement, to persons carrying on the business of travel agent, tour operator or the hiring out of motor cars or boats.

(2) In respect of the taxable periods commencing on the 1st day of September, 1981, and the 1st day of November, 1981, notwithstanding the provisions of section 11 of the Principal Act (as amended by this Act), tax shall, in relation to the supply of a qualifying service, be chargeable, and be deemed to have been chargeable, at the rate of 10 per cent.

15. —A person who, immediately before the passing of this Act, was a taxable person and who, upon such passing, would not, unless he so elected under section 8 (3) of the Principal Act, be such a person, shall, upon such passing, be deemed to have so elected and shall be a taxable person until the time when the election is cancelled or he permanently ceases to supply taxable goods and services, whichever is the earlier.