284 tal-2016 - Regoli tal-2016 dwar il-Kommunikazzjonijiet Elettroniċi

L.N. 284 of 2016

COMMISSIIONER FOR REVENUE ACT

(CAP. 517)

INCOME TAX MANAGEMENT ACT

(Cap. 372)

Electronic Communications Rules, 2016

BY VIRTUE of the powers conferred by article 6 of the

Commissioner for Revenue Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Act",

and by article 48 and 58 of the Income Tax Management Act, the

Minister for Finance has made the following rules:-

The title of these rules is the Electronic Communications Citation.

Rules.

In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires -

Interpretation.

"guidelines" means guidelines published by the Commissioner

for the purpose of these rules on the official website of a revenue

department;

"statutory document" means a return, notice, declaration,

statement or any other communication or form, whether prescribed or

not, that may be furnished or is required to be furnished to the

Commissioner in terms of any law;

and other terms and expressions have the same meaning as that

assigned to them in the Act or in the relative revenue Act.

(1)

The Commissioner may, by means of guidelines, Procedures for

establish procedures for the electronic submission of any statutory electronic

communications

documents, including the electronic format of any such documents,

and for related electronic communications.

(2) Guidelines may be made in one or more sets and published

on the official website of one or more revenue departments, and

different sets may be published on the official websites of different

revenue departments.

(3) The Commissioner may, in the same manner, at any time

change or suspend in full or in part the procedures established in the

guidelines.

Subject to the provisions of rule 6, any time limit laid

down in a revenue Act for the submission of a statutory document is

also the time limit within which that document may be submitted

electronically

Provided that the Commissioner may, by means of

guidelines, allow a time limit for the electronic submission of a

statutory document that is longer than the corresponding time limit

laid down in the relative revenue Act.

Subject to the provisions of rule 6, and except as may be

otherwise provided in guidelines

(a)

when a person submits the electronic format of a

statutory document electronically in accordance with the

procedures set out in guidelines and within the time limit that is

applicable in accordance with rule 4, he shall be deemed to have

validly submitted that statutory document for the purpose of the

relative revenue Act;

(b)

the valid submission of the electronic format of a

statutory document shall relieve that person from the obligation

to submit any statement or other document that is otherwise

required by the relative revenue Act to be submitted together

with the paper format of that document.

When the electronic format of a statutory document has

been submitted by or on behalf of any person, the Commissioner may

request that person to submit, within a period of not less than forty-

eight hours but in any case by a date that is not earlier than the last

day of the period allowed by the relative revenue Act for the

submission of the paper format of that document -

(a)

the paper format of that document;

(b)

any statement or other document that is required by

the relative revenue Act to be submitted together with the paper

format of that document;

(c)

any information that is required in terms of the

relative revenue Act to be included in the paper format of that

document or in any such attachment;

and that statutory document shall not be deemed to have been validly

submitted unless and until such request is complied with.

When a person has communicated electronically with the

Commissioner on any matter using the procedures established for the

purpose of these rules, the Commissioner may communicate with that

person electronically in connection with that matter, and any such

communication by the Commissioner shall be deemed to have been

validly made for the purposes of the relative revenue Act.

When a person authorises another person to communicate Electronic

with the Commissioner on his behalf in accordance with procedures communications

by or with

established for the purpose of these rules and that authorisation has authorised

representatives.

not been revoked -

(a)

any electronic communication made by the

authorised person in accordance with those procedures shall be

deemed, for the purposes of the relative revenue Act, to be a

communication made by the person who gave that

authorisation; and

(b)

any communication made by the Commissioner

with the authorised person in accordance with rule 7 shall be

deemed, for the purpose of the relative revenue Act, to be a

communication with the person who gave that authorisation.

Nothing in these rules shall be construed as empowering Limitations of

the powers of

the Commissioner

the

Commissioner.

(a)

to impose a time limit for the submission of the

electronic format of a statutory document that is shorter than

that provided for in the relative law for the submission of that

statutory document;

(b)

to require a person to provide information that he is

not required to provide in terms of any revenue Act or any other

law except as may be reasonably necessary for the management

and the security of the electronic communication system.

Nothing in these rules or in guidelines shall be construed Non-

as validating or invalidating any electronic communication that is applicability

these rules and

outside the scope of those guidelines.

of the guidelines

to other

communications

The data recorded on the system used or recognised by the Recorded data

Commissioner for the purpose of electronic communications to which to

conclusive

these rules refer shall constitute conclusive evidence as to

evidence.

(a)

the identity of the sender of that communication;

(b)

the identity of the receiver of that communication;

(c)

the contents of that communication;

(d)

the delivery of the communication;

(e)

the date and time of the delivery of the

communication

Provided that this rule shall not apply when it is proved

that, on account of any technical default in the said system, the

relevant data is not retrievable or is incomplete or is not reliable.

In rule 9 of the Tax Refunds and Registration Procedure

Rules, for the words "Electronic Communications (Income Tax)

Regulations" there shall be substituted the words "Electronic

Communications Rules prescribed under the Commissioner for

Revenue Act".

The Electronic Communications (Income Tax) Regulations

are hereby revoked.

€0.36