Business Law Committee Update - Guidelines on Inward Investment Screening

Representatives of the Business Law Committee recently met with senior officials from the Inward Investment Unit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The meeting focussed on the early implementation of the new investment screening regime from 6 January 2025.

The Department officials welcomed recent input from the Law Society and the Business Law Committee on the introduction of the new system and look forward to future engagement on the implementation of the new system.

The key issues raised during the meeting included:

1. Pre-Filing Engagement and Filing Process: The Department officials clarified that substantive pre-filing engagement on specific transactions is not the practice under Irish legislation. However, a forthcoming recast of EU Regulation 2019/452 may include a proposal for a 2-stage review process which could potentially shorten the review for certain transactions, though its adoption timeline is unclear.

2. Indirect Foreign Investments: Transactions involving “indirect” foreign investment will not benefit from a truncated approval process. These will still require consultation with multiple Government departments, and national review procedures will take a maximum of 45 days from filing.

3. Stakeholder Guidance and Future Revisions: The Department’s Stakeholder Guidance is a "live" document that will be updated regularly based on ongoing practice. The Department has invited the Law Society to submit additional comments, and they are also considering updates to the Critical Infrastructure Guidance, which may influence the application of the legislation on inward investments.

Members of the profession are invited to share their experience of the new scheme to inform future revisions of the Guidance Note with the Business Law Committee.

Taxation Committee

The Taxation Committee has been continuing its work engaging with Revenue and with Tax Administration Liaison Committees (TALC) Committees on different tax matters impacting tax payers and the profession. The Committee has taken over the Chair of main TALC and a number of TALC subcommittees for 2025 and we look forward to a productive year in these Chair roles.

The Taxation Committee also continues to engage on policy matters of relevance to the Committee and recently worked with the Law Society Policy Team to prepare a submission in response to the Department of Finance’s call for feedback on the Tax Treatment of Interest in Ireland. We await the outcome of that consultation.

The issue of tax clearances for non-resident vendors of lands and buildings has long been an issue of concern for practitioners. Members of the Taxation Committee have been in consultation with Revenue on this issue over many months. Revenue issued an updated Tax and Duty Manual (TDM) on 15 March 2025 (Updated TDM Part 45-01-05) and the Taxation Committee has also issued a new Practice Note in tandem. The Practice Note addresses (inter alia) disposals of property for a non-resident vendor where there is a secured charge and disposals where the solicitor is not possessed of funds, and includes a number of recommendations.

• Learn more about revisions to the Tax and Duty Manual

Regulation Answers – a new helpline for solicitors

The Law Society has listened to the demands of the profession for increased support and guidance around all regulatory compliance obligations and is pleased to announce the launch of its free regulation helpline: Regulation Answers.

Available from the Law Society website, Regulation Answers provides a range of free support and guidance resources on all areas of regulatory compliance, including:

• the Solicitors Accounts Regulations,
• AML,
• PII and
• PC matters.

There is also helpful information on cyber security, Law Society accounts investigations and what to do if a complaint is made against you.

Regulation Answers can be accessed on the Law Society website. You can contact the helpline by either calling 01 879 8788 or emailing regulationanswers@lawsociety.ie.

Telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12 noon. Please note, the helpline is for general guidance queries only. It cannot provide legal advice, offer second opinions or comment on specific scenarios or circumstances.