Public CbCR Reporting

Introduction
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Ireland announced on the 22 of June 2023 the signing of the European Union Regulations 2023 transposing the Directive (EU) 2021/2101 [Public country-by-country reporting (“CbCR”)] into Irish legislation.

Who does it apply

• The Public CbCR regulations require multinational enterprises (“MNEs”) with revenue as reflected in the financial statements or consolidated financial statements exceeding €750 million in each of the preceding two consecutive financial years to publicly disclose corporate tax information separately for each European Union (EU) Member State, each jurisdiction on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions and aggregate figures for all other countries.
• MNEs include subsidiaries and branches of non-EU multinationals operating in the EU.

Information to be disclosed

• The public CbCR report should include (i) name of the ultimate parent, (ii) related financial year, (iii) currency used for presentation of the report, (iv) a list of all subsidiary consolidated in the ultimate parent financial statement and are based in the EU or EU non-cooperative jurisdictions, (v) brief description of the nature of activities, (vi) number of full-time equivalent employees, (vii) total net turnover (from third party and intragroup transactions), (viii) Profit or Loss before tax (vi) Amount of income tax payable in the country (vii) Amount of income tax actually paid during the year (viii) Amount of profits that have not yet been distributed from past financial years.
• Where such information is not available the Irish subsidiary or branch must request the information from the ultimate parent or standalone company. If the information is not provided, the subsidiary or branch must publish a report of all the corporate tax information available and a statement that the ultimate parent or standalone company did not provide the necessary information. 
• Where financial statements are required to be audited, the audit report must state whether the undertaking was in scope for the preceding year and if the report was published.

Timeline

The Public CbCR regulations will apply from the financial year beginning on or after 22 June 2024. The MNEs are required to publish the Public CbCR report within 12 months of the balance sheet date for the relevant financial year. 
 

Where to report

The Public CbCR report must be published on the relevant MNE own website unless it makes the report available to the Public on the website of the Companies Registration Office (“CRO”) and be accessible to the Public for at least five years. If published on the CRO website, the MNE must reference this on its own website and provide information on where the report can be found.

Exemptions

• Company operating exclusively in a single EU Member State and no other jurisdiction.
• The MNE group with an Irish subsidiary that is not a medium-sized or large undertaking.
• The MNE group with an Irish branch that had a net turnover in the preceding two consecutive financial years below €12 million.
• The regulations also set out the conditions under which a company may defer the disclosure of certain commercially sensitive information for up to five years.

Penalties

• The directors of the ultimate parent or standalone undertaking have collective responsibility for ensuring that the report on corporate tax information is drawn up, published, and made accessible to the public. The relevant persons in a subsidiary or the authorised persons of a branch have collective responsibility for ensuring, to the best of their knowledge and ability, that the report on corporate tax information is drawn up, published and made accessible to the public. 
• A person (except the statutory auditor) who fails to comply with the public CbCR regulations will be guilty of a category 3 offense (i.e., a summary offence, which on conviction may involve a term of imprisonment of up to six months or a "Class A fine" not exceeding €5,000).
   

How can RSM Ireland help? 
For addition information on this alert and to discuss the requirement and how we can help, please see our contacts listed below, or alternatively, please contact your usual contact at RSM.