The Finance Act 2018 introduced a number of changes to the film tax relief which included changes to the administration of the scheme designed to speed-up the time required to decide on applications for the relief. The Film Regulations 2019 were made by the Revenue Commissioners on 27 March 2019 and provide for the implementation of this change.
Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, as amended by the Finance Act 2018, provides for the making of an application by a producer company directly to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for a certificate stating that the film is to be treated as a qualifying film for the purpose of Section 481. Applications were previously made directly to the Revenue Commissioners.
An application for certification must be made in writing to the Minister at least 21 working days prior to the commencement of the Irish production. Applications should be made using the application form available on the website of the Department and guidance on completing the applications form is also available on the website
Where the Minister issues a certificate in relation to a qualifying film, and all the other provisions of Section 481 have been complied with, a producer company may make a claim to the Revenue Commissioners for the film corporation tax credit.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy the new arrangements are already fully operational in my Department which has already received an application and issued certification under the new regulations.
The Regulations, new Application Form and Guidelines are published on the website of my Department at https://www.chg.gov.ie/arts/creative-arts/projects-and-programmes/film/.
In addition, my Department is providing a briefing to the audiovisual industry today in conjunction with the Revenue Commissioners.
