Ireland

Business Environment

Business practices

For further information: Your guide to Ireland
Closed hours and days: Business hours: Mon-Fri: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Lunch between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m.

Public holidays

New Year's Day	1 January
St. Patrick's Day	17 March
Easter Monday	End of March
First Monday	in May, June, August
Last Monday	in October
Christmas Day	25 December
St. Stephen's Day	26 December
Good Friday	Not a public holiday

Compensation day: Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work.

Periods when companies usually close

Christmas	Between Christmas day and New year's day
Summer	July, August

Standards

National standards organizations

National Standards Authority

Integration in the international standards network

Classification of standards

CE is the European certification mark. The Irish National Standards Body is the NSAI. Visit the website www.standards.ie to consult the list of Irish standards.

Online consultation of standards

National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)

Certification organizations

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
European Committee for Standardization

Legal framework

Independence of justice: The judiciary is independent.
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Yes
The language of justice: English and Gaelic.
Having recourse to an interpreter: Yes
Sources of the law and legal similarities: - Brehon Law
- Constitution of 1937
- The European Communities Act, 1972 (provides that Treaties of the European Union are part of Irish law, along with directly effective measures adopted under those treaties)
- Acts of the Oireachtas
- Statutory instruments
All the Irish sources of law are available on the website of The Irish statute book
Consulting national laws online: Constitution of Ireland

Intellectual Property

National organizations: Copyright Association of Ireland
Regional organizations: Copyright Office, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Industrial Property Office, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Patent Office
International membership: Member of the WIPO
Signatory to the Paris Convention
Membership to TRIPS

National regulation and international agreements

Type of property	Law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent	Patent Act 1977	Long term patent: 20 years Short term patent: 10 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty Strasbourg agreement concerning the International Patent Classification
Trademark	Trade Mark Act 1994	renewable every 10 years	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement concerning the International classification of goods and Services for the Purposes of the registration of Marks Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design	Design Patent	5 years, renewable for further periods of 5 years
Copyright	Copyright & Related Rights Act, 2000	In most cases, copyright lasts for the creator's lifetime plus 70 years	Berne convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic Works Rome convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and Broadcasting organizations WIPO copyright treaty WIPO performances and Phonograms treaty
Industrial Models	Industrial Designs Bill, 2000	5 years, renewable for further periods of 5 years, subject to a maximum of 15 years.

Tax rates

Consumption taxes

Nature of the tax: VAT: Valued Added Tax
Tax rate: 21%.
Reduced tax rate: There are reduced rates of VAT of 4.8%, and 13.5%. VAT is charged on assets and services in Ireland as well as on imports into Ireland.
Other consumption taxes: Stamp duty of 1%-9%.

Corporate taxes

Tax rate

Currently	:	12.5%
Corporate tax applied to companies keeping certain conditions in July 1998	:	10%
Corporate tax is imposed on passive income	:	25%
For more information	:	Ireland Tax Office

Tax rate for foreign companies

Corporate tax is charged on the company’s profits. It includes both income and chargeable gains. The corporation tax in Ireland is quite low, and is often cited as an example of tax competition, as it is used as an incentive for foreign companies to invest in the Irish Republic.

Capital gains taxation

20% for individuals

Main allowable deductions and tax credit

Offset of losses, transaction between affiliated parties, financing costs, bad costs, depreciation expenses.
Consult the list of Irish tax deductions.

Individual taxes

Tax rate

Tax base in EUR.	:	Individual income tax rates 2007 in %
0-34 000	:	20%
34 001 and over	:	41%

Allowable deductions and tax credit

Relief is given mainly in the form of a credit on tax payable. Most relief refers exclusively to Irish residents.
Consult the list of deductions here.

Special expatriate tax regime

Unless your income is relieved from Irish tax under the provisions of a double taxation agreement, it will be taxable in Ireland from the date of your arrival regardless of your Irish residence status for tax purposes.

Double taxation treaties

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: Doubled taxation treaties (44 countries)
Whithholding taxes
Bilateral agreement

Sources of fiscal information

Tax Authorities: Ireland Tax and Customs
Other domestic resources: Ireland tax system

Accounting rules

Tax year: From January 1 to December 31.
Accounting standards: Ireland applies British accounting standards: SSAPs (Statements of Standard Accounting Practice) and FRSs (Financial Reporting Standards) of ASB (Accounting Standards Board). These accounting standards conform to international standards of IAS/IFRS.
Accounting regulation bodies: Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (ICPAI)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland (IATI)
Accounting reports: The Fourth Directive 78/660/EEC contains detailed requirements relating to information disclosure, the classification and presentation of information and methods of valuation for the annual accounts of certain types of companies: balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes to the accounts.
Publication: Has to be conforming to the Companies Acts and IAS/IFRS norms.
The Directives provide for a system of auditing under which companies must have their annual accounts audited by one or more persons authorized by national law to audit accounts. Such a person or persons must also verify that the annual report is consistent with the annual accounts for the same financial year.
Consult the Directive 2006/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Professional accountancy bodies: Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Publishes the journal Accountancy Ireland
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Certified Public Accountants
Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland
Association of Authorized Public Accountants
Association of International Accountants
Certification and auditing: The Auditing Practices Board (APB) establishes high standards of auditing, meet the developing needs of users of financial information, and ensure public confidence in the auditing process. Companies refer to Irish Companies Act, and are yearly audited.
Accounting news: EIN News
International Accounting Standards Board