Vol. 414 No. 6
87 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the recent comments by the EC Court of Auditors to the effect that the tax authorities here were slow in cashing VAT cheques and that this was causing a loss of revenue to both the Irish Exchequer and the EC, he intends to take any steps to ensure the speeding up of the cashing of such cheques; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the comments by the EC Court of Auditors in their annual report were made as part of general comments on payment methods by a number of EC member states, including Ireland.
The comments made in the 1990 report refer to the year 1988. In so far as Ireland is concerned the comments must be seen in the context of the amnesty which occurred in that year and which necessitated the processing of an extraordinary number of additional payments for all taxes (including VAT) by the Collector-General's Office.
I understand that the present position is that the Collector-General lodges to the Exchequer in excess of 80 per cent of money received within twenty-four hours of receipt and that practically all payments are in the Exchequer by the third day after receipt.
The Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the Collector-General's Office is not slow to cash cheques and that the Exchequer does not suffer a loss because of existing procedures.
