Finance Act, 1973

Amendment of section 335 of Income Tax Act, 1967.

44.Section 335 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following subsections:

“(2) A registered friendly society shall not be entitled to exemption from tax under this section in relation to any year of assessment, being the year 1973-74 or any subsequent year, if the Revenue Commissioners determine, for the purposes of entitlement to exemption for that year, that the society does not satisfy the following conditions:

(a) that it was established solely for any or all of the purposes set out in section 8 (1) of the Friendly Societies Act, 1896 , and not for the purpose of securing a tax advantage; and

(b) that, since its establishment, it has engaged solely in activities directed to achieving the purposes for which it was so established and that it has not engaged in trading activities, other than by way of insurance in respect of members, with a view to the realisation of profits.

(3) In making a determination under this section in relation to a registered friendly society, the Revenue Commissioners shall consider any evidence in relation to the matter submitted to them by the society.

(4) In any case where a friendly society is aggrieved by a determination of the Revenue Commissioners under this section in relation to the society, the society shall be entitled to appeal to the Appeal Commissioners against the determination of the Revenue Commissioners and the Appeal Commissioners shall hear and determine the appeal as if it were an appeal against an assessment to income tax and the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , relating to the rehearing of an appeal and the statement of a case for the opinion of the High Court on a point of law shall apply accordingly with any necessary modifications.”.