Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Tax Clearance Certificate) Regulations, 1999

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1999
• Citation: IR SI 135/1999

Regulation
1. Citation. 2. Interpretation. 3. Commencement. 4. Requirement to furnish Tax Clearance Certificate to be added to Panel. 5. Requirement to furnish Tax Clearance Certificate annually to be retained on Panel. 6. Application for a Tax Clearance Certificate. 7. Appeal against refusal to issue Tax Clearance Certificate. 8. Retention on panel in certain circumstances where application for Tax Clearance Certificate pending or appeal against refusal to issue Tax Clearance Certificate not finally determined. 9. Power to delete names from panel. 10. Notification of panels by County Registrar and Minister to Court Registrars and Clerks. 11. Miscellaneous provisions. SCHEDULE — Statutory Declaration.
S.I. No. 135 of 1999.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE (LEGAL AID) (TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE) REGULATIONS, 1999.
I, JOHN O'DONOGHUE, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12 of 1962) as amended by section 132 of the Finance Act, 1998 (No. 3 of 1998), (as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1997 )), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following regulations:
	Citation	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Tax Clearance Certificate) Regulations, 1999.
(2) The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 to 1998, and these Regulations may be cited together as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 to 1999.
	Interpretation.	2. (1) In these Regulations—
(a) a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended;
(b) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is to a paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
(c) Where the time limited or the latest date prescribed by these Regulations for the doing of anything expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday the time so limited or date so prescribed shall extend to and the thing may be done on the next following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
(2) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12 of 1962), as amended by section 132 of the Finance Act, 1998 (No. 3 of 1998);
“the Acts” mean—
(a) (i) the Tax Acts, and
(ii) the Capital Gains Tax Acts,
within the meanings assigned to them respectively, by section 1 (2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (No. 39 of 1997),
(b) the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 (No. 22 of 1972) and the enactments amending or extending that Act, and
(c) any instruments made under the enactments referred to in subparagraphs (a) or (b);
“appeal” means an appeal pursuant to Regulation 7 and includes the rehearing of an appeal by the Circuit Court and the statement of a case for the opinion of the High Court on a point of law;
“Appeal Commissioners” shall have the same meaning as in section 850 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 ;
“the Bar Council” means the General Council of the Bar of Ireland;
“barristers' panel” means the list maintained by the Minister pursuant to Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations of counsel (in these Regulations referred to as barristers) who have (through the Bar Council) notified him or her of their willingness to act for persons in respect of whom certificates for free legal aid have been granted;
“Collector-General” means the person referred to in section 851 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 ;
“the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations” means Regulations for the time being in force made under section 10 of the Act;
“Income Tax Acts” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 (2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 ;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;
“panel year” means the period of one year commencing on the 1st day of December of one year and ending on the 30th day of November of the following year;
“the Principal Regulations” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 ( S.I. No. 12 of 1965 );
“the 1978 Regulations” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 304 of 1978 );
“the 1993 Regulations” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 57 of 1993 );
“solicitors' panel” means the list maintained by a County Registrar of solicitors who pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations (as amended by the 1978 Regulations and the 1993 Regulations) have notified him or her of their willingness to act for persons to whom certificates for free legal aid have been granted;
“tax clearance certificate” shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 6 and means a certificate which:
(a) in the case of an application by a solicitor to have his or her name added to a solicitors' panel, has an expiry date that is later than the date on which the certificate is received by the County Registrar concerned,
(b) in the case of an application by a barrister to have his or her name added to the barristers' panel, has an expiry date that is later then the date on which the certificate is received by the Minister,
(c) in the case of an application by a solicitor to have his or her name retained on a solicitors' panel, has an expiry date that is later than the 30th day of November immediately preceding the panel year in respect of which the solicitor wishes to have his or her name retained on that panel,
(d) in the case of an application by a barrister to have his or her name retained on the barristers' panel, has an expiry date that is later than the 30th day of November immediately preceeding the panel year in respect of which the barrister wishes to have his or her name retained on that panel,
and which has been issued by the Collector-General pursuant to these Regulations or pursuant to section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 .
	Commencement.	3. These Regulations shall come into effect on the 1st day of August, 1999.
	Requirement to furnish Tax Clearance Certificate to be added to Panel.	4. (1) A County Registrar who, in pursuance of Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations (as amended by Regulation 3 of the 1978 Regulations and Regulation 6 of the 1993 Regulations), is notified by a solicitor or his or her willingness to act for persons to whom certificates for free legal aid have been granted and of the wish of that solicitor to have his or her name added to the solicitors' panel which is maintained by that County Registrar pursuant to those Regulations, shall, on receipt of such notification (except in a case where a tax clearance certificate is furnished with such notification), inform the Minister of such notification and the Minister, upon being furnished with such information, shall request the solicitor to furnish a tax clearance certificate to the County Registrar concerned.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 4 (2) of the Principal Regulations (as amended) the County Registrar shall not add the name of the solicitor concerned to the solicitors' panel until a tax clearance certificate has been furnished to the County Registrar concerned.
(3) Where the Minister, in pursuance of Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations, has been notified by the Bar Council of the name of a barrister who is willing to act for persons to whom certificates for free legal aid have been granted and of the wish of that barrister to have his or her name added to the barristers' panel, the Minister, on receipt of such notification (except in a case where a tax clearance certificate is furnished with such notification), shall request the barrister concerned to furnish a tax clearance certificate to the Minister.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations, the Minister shall not add the name of the barrister concerned to the barristers' panel until the barrister has furnished a tax clearance certificate to the Minister.
(5) (a) The requirement to furnish a tax clearance certificate under this Regulation shall be satisfied where the solicitor or barrister, as the case may be, furnishes a tax clearance certificate issued by the Collector-General pursuant to section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 which has an expiry date that is later than the date the notification is received by the County Registrar or the Minister, as the case may be.
(b) Subparagraph (a) shall not apply where the person to whom the tax clearance certificate is issued pursuant to section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 is an employee unless that person's employer is in compliance with the provisions of Regulation 6(2).
	Requirement to furnish Tax Clearance Certificate annually to be retained on Panel.	5 (1) A solicitor whose name is on a solicitors' panel, and who wishes to have his or her name retained on that panel in respect of a panel year, shall annually, not later than the 30th day of November immediately preceeding that panel year, furnish to the County Registrar concerned a tax clearance certificate and shall, provided all other requirements of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations have been complied with, thereupon be entitled to have his or her name retained on that panel in respect of the panel year concerned.
(2) A solicitor whose name is on more than one solicitors' panel shall be obliged to furnish a tax clearance certificate in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1) in respect of each such panel on which the solicitor wishes to have his or her name...