You should always share any correspondence from Revenue with your accountant, especially if it is a “final demand“ notification. It is important to ensure that your accountant is aware of all communication from Revenue so that they can provide the best advice and support.
Revenue recently issued final demand letters to numerous businesses, warning them that they had only seven days to pay their tax debts or else face the consequences of the sheriffs or the courts.
It is noteworthy that many accountants did not get the letters, thus being unaware of the 7–day time limit. Moreover, Revenue has drastically reduced the duration of a process that used to take several months.
Prior to the Covid–19 pandemic, taxpayers who had overdue liabilities would receive a demand letter from an individual case worker that outlined the amounts owed for each tax–head. The contact information of the caseworker was included in the letter. Usually, the taxpayer or their accountant would contact the caseworker and either pay off the outstanding liabilities or set up an installment plan. If the taxpayer did not respond to Revenue, they were sent additional demand notices over a period of months before enforcement action was taken.
The 7–day notice demand letter is now arriving much faster, and if the taxpayer does not respond within the 7 days, their case will be automatically marked for enforcement. Furthermore, these letters are no longer sent out by a caseworker; they are generated automatically and include a general helpline number for taxpayers to contact.
It is essential that business owners do not disregard letters from Revenue and do not assume their accountant has received a copy. Immediately upon receipt, they should forward the letter (or a picture of it) to their accountant so that it can be addressed promptly.
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