New guidance issued on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule

Revenue has issued new guidance on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule and Protective Notifications providing guidance on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) and outlining the protective notification procedure.

The manual provides guidance on the GAAR contained in section 811C TCA 1997 and it sets out the implications of entering into a ‘tax avoidance transaction’. The manual confirms that claiming a tax advantage from such a transaction can give rise to a tax avoidance surcharge, interest and additional tax arising on the withdrawal of the benefit by Revenue.

Taxpayers have the option of filing a protective notice with Revenue to mitigate the consequences of Revenue assessing that the taxpayer has entered a tax avoidance transaction. Filing a protective notice affords the taxpayer a few benefits including protection from paying the tax avoidance surcharge in the event of the transaction being found to be a tax avoidance transaction under the GAAR.

The new manual provides information on the protective notification procedures, including details on the forms to be completed to file a valid notification.