Revenue Opinions/Confirmations - Update
Following a recent eBrief from Revenue,
taxpayers who have been relying on
opinions/confirmations from Revenue which
were issued more than five years ago need to
review their arrangements in advance of 30
June 2017.
Review of existing Revenue
opinions/confirmations
On 26 January 2017, Revenue released
eBrief No. 08/2017 stating the Revenue
policy that all opinions/confirmations issued
by Revenue are subject to a maximum
validity period of 5 years, or such shorter
period as may have been specified by
Revenue in the opinion/confirmation.
A taxpayer who, after 1 January 2017 wishes
to continue to rely on an opinion/confirmation
issued before 1 January 2012, must:

supply evidence of the
opinion/confirmation ie a copy of a written
communication from Revenue; and

lodge a full application for the renewal or
extension of the opinion/confirmation with
the Revenue district dealing with the
taxpayer’s affairs.
This follows an eBrief in 2016 confirming that
opinions/confirmations from Revenue’s Large
Cases Division (LCD) are valid for a
maximum of 5 years.
Revenue has already commenced a review
of opinions/confirmations that were issued
more than 5 years ago and, as part of this
process, has made contact with some
taxpayers.
MHC-11139144-1
What opinions are in scope?
and whether there is sufficient documentation
to support the positions adopted.
Revenue guidance provides a nonexhaustive list of the types of opinions that
fall within these rules:




For further information, please contact:
The existence or non-existence of a
permanent establishment in Ireland;
Profit attribution or transfer pricing
methodology;
Trading status; and
Residence status.
John Gulliver
Head of Tax
t: +353 1 614 5007
e: [email protected]
The guidance also notes that an
opinion/confirmation will only be provided by
Revenue where the issues are complex,
information is not readily available or there is
genuine uncertainty in relation to the
applicable tax rules as set down in the
legislation.
Robert Henson
Tax Partner
Exchange of information with other tax
authorities
Maura Dineen
Tax Partner
Under recently introduced EU and OECD
rules on exchange of information on tax
rulings, an opinion provided by Revenue,
including a renewal or extension of an
existing opinion, may be subject to disclosure
to other tax authorities, and a redacted
version may be shared with the EU
Commission.
Action needed
Any taxpayer who is relying on an
opinion/confirmation from Revenue that is at
least 5 years old needs to decide whether the
opinion should be renewed in advance of 30
June. If a new opinion is obtained, it is likely
to be shared with other tax authorities and
the Commission. The international tax
environment is changing rapidly and it has
become more difficult to obtain opinions from
Revenue and other tax authorities. This
means that taxpayers may have to adjust to a
less certain tax environment in the future,
both in Ireland and globally. However, there
are many ways to manage these tax risks
and we expect to see more internal reviews
of existing arrangements supported by
increased reliance on professional advice. A
review of existing tax structures should
assess whether the arrangements remain
appropriate in the current tax environment
MHC-11139144-1
t: +353 1 614 2314
e: [email protected]
t: +353 1 614 2444
e: [email protected]
Niamh Keogh
Tax Of Counsel
t: +353 1 614 5848
e: [email protected]
MHC-11139144-1