Part 2 – Devolved taxes administration
Section 53: Minor amendment of section 94 of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014
126.This section corrects an erroneous reference in section 94 of the 2014 Act, so that the current reference to a “paragraph” becomes a reference to a “section”.
Section 54: Refusal of repayment claim where other tax not paid
127.This section of the Act amends paragraph 12 of schedule 3 of the 2014 Act, which requires Revenue Scotland to give effect to a claim for repayment of tax as soon as practicable after it is made. An exception to this duty is added, allowing Revenue Scotland to withhold payment or postpone giving effect to such a claim where the claimant has failed to pay to Revenue Scotland an amount of tax other than the amount which is subject to the claim. This includes the ability to give partial effect to a claim, or to partially withhold repayment.
Section 55: Penalties for failure to pay tax
128.This section of the Act makes a change to the fourth column of the table in section 168(1) of the 2014 Act, which sets out the date when a taxpayer becomes liable to pay a penalty for failure to pay tax. The change relates only to penalties in respect of Land and buildings transaction tax and is to clarify that in the situation where a person has failed to submit a tax return by the filing date, the person becomes liable to pay a penalty 30 days after the filing date and not any later date.
Section 56: Communications from Revenue Scotland to taxpayers
129.This section of the Act creates a new regulation-making power in the 2014 Act, section 251A, allowing the Scottish Ministers to make provision about communications from Revenue Scotland to taxpayers (this would follow the existing section 251 about communications in the other direction, from taxpayers to Revenue Scotland). The regulations may make provision about the use of electronic communications in particular, meaning that they could be used in future to adjust any practical aspects of electronic communications from Revenue Scotland.
130.These regulations will be subject to the affirmative procedure and must be consulted on by Ministers before being laid. The regulations will be capable of modifying other enactments, including the 2014 Act itself.
Section 57: Use of automation by Revenue Scotland
131.This section of the Act creates a new regulation-making power in the 2014 Act, section 251B, allowing the Scottish Ministers to make provision about the use by Revenue Scotland of automation in carrying out functions conferred on designated officers or Revenue Scotland.
132.These regulations will be subject to the affirmative procedure and must be consulted on by Ministers before being laid. The regulations will be capable of modifying other enactments, including the 2014 Act itself.
Section 58: Set-off by Revenue Scotland
133.This section of the Act inserts section 251C into the 2014 Act. Section 251C will allow Revenue Scotland to set off a taxpayer’s credit against the same taxpayer’s debit. Doing so discharges the taxpayer’s obligations to Revenue Scotland and Revenue Scotland’s obligations to the taxpayer to the extent of this “set off”. This new power of set-off does not affect any existing power Revenue Scotland has to set off credits against debits (for example, under the common law) and is also subject to section 251D on insolvency credits and debits.
134.Subsection (3A) of section 251C modifies the definition of “
135.This section of the Act also inserts section 251D into the 2014 Act. This qualifies section 251C by providing that the set-off power in that section may not be used to set a post-insolvency credit against a pre-insolvency debit. This is intended to make clear that the set-off power is not intended to have any effect on insolvency law and that Revenue Scotland will not be advantaged over other creditors in insolvency situations.
Section 59: Role of designated officer
136.This section provides for the legal continuity of the actions of designated officers of Revenue Scotland, inserting a new section 251E into the 2014 Act which sets out that anything begun by one designated officer may be continued by another officer (including anything in relation to legal proceedings).
137.This section also makes a specific amendment to section 225 of the 2014 Act so that where an application is being made to the court for a summary warrant in relation to unpaid tax, the procedural steps will need to be carried out by a designated officer but different designated officers may carry out different steps.
Section 60: Retrospective effect of amendments made by the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Group Relief Modification) (Scotland) Order 2018
138.Schedule 10 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 makes provision for the availability of group relief. Subject to certain rules, this provides relief from Land and buildings transaction tax for land transactions between companies within a group that would otherwise be chargeable to tax and on which tax would otherwise be payable.
139.Schedule 10 was modified on 30 June 2018 by the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Group Relief Modification) (Scotland) Order 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/222) to provide that relief will not be lost in relation to standard Scottish “share pledge” type arrangements and other analogous circumstances, so long as any right is not exercised. This section of the Act gives this rule retrospective effect as from 1 April 2015.
