Revenue required to process tax refund where all necessary information already held through PAYE returns

The High Court allowed an appeal by the personal representatives of a deceased taxpayer, who sought a refund of overpaid income tax arising from the operation of the PAYE system in circumstances where most of the taxpayer’s employment was outside Ireland. The Revenue Commissioners had refused to pay the full refund on the basis that the claim made within the statutory four-year period was incomplete and did not include the correct tax paid figure, relying instead on information already in the Revenue’s possession through the PAYE system. The court found that it was not reasonable to require the taxpayer to duplicate information already held and readily accessible to the Revenue, especially since the error arose from a flaw in the Revenue’s online system which prevented entry of the correct details. The High Court held that all necessary information for the refund was available to the Revenue within the requisite timeframe, and the taxpayer had made a valid claim, entitling the estate to the refund.