Kerry Suppliers Should Follow Co-op Board Guidelines on Dealing with Revenue Share Assessment

IFA President Joe Healy today said he had been in touch with both the Revenue Commissioners and the Kerry Co-op Board in recent days, and was clear that to minimise any penalties and gain additional time to allow for an appeal of the Revenue’s tax assessment of Kerry patronage shares, affected Kerry suppliers should respond by letter to Revenue within the 21 day limit.

“Farmers are entitled to appeal the assessment by the Revenue Commissioners, but it is essential that, in order to do so, they engage with Revenue in the 21 day timeframe set out in the letter. By doing this, they will minimise the potential for penalties. They can also seek an extension of 60 days to provide them with a more practical timeframe to appeal the Revenue valuation of the shares, should they wish to do so. A template letter for appealing the Revenue assessment has been developed by Deloitte for Kerry Co-op, and I have asked Kerry Co Op to ensure all their farmer suppliers are urgently made aware of it and encouraged to use it”.

“I further understand that Kerry Co-op are, with advice from Deloitte, working on establishing a test case to challenge the assessment, which all farmers who have engaged with Revenue in good time stand to benefit should it conclude positively,” he added.

“Farmers should also consult their own accountants and tax advisors in relation to this. We are dealing here with a very complex taxation case, between Revenue and individual farmers, and farmers must not ignore any correspondence from Revenue, as doing so would expose them to potentially significant penalties,” Joe Healy concluded.