STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 645 of 2004 .

FINANCE ACT 2004 (SECTION 39) (COMMENCEMENT) ORDER 2004.

S.I. No. 645 of 2004 .

FINANCE ACT 2004 (SECTION 39) (COMMENCEMENT) ORDER 2004.

I, CHARLIE McCREEVY, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 39(2) of the Finance Act 2004 (No. 8 of 2004), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Finance Act 2004 (Section 39) (Commencement) Order 2004.

2. The 27th day of September 2004 is appointed as the day on which subsection (1) of section 39 of the Finance Act 2004 ( No. 8 of 2004 ) comes into operation.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order appoints the 27th day of September 2004 as the date for the coming into operation of section 39 of the Finance Act 2004 . This section extends the qualifying period for relief under section 486B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 to 31 December 2006. Section 486B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , provides tax relief for corporate investment in certain renewable energy projects, including those successful in the Alternative Energy Requirement competitions. To qualify for the relief the energy project must be in the solar, wind, hydro or biomass technology categories, and be approved by the Minister for Public Enterprise (now the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources). The relief is capped at the lesser 50 per cent of all capital expenditure or €9.525 million for a single project. Investment by a company or group is capped at €12.7 million per annum, and unless the shares are held for at least 5 years by the company the relief will be withdrawn.

Section 39 of the Finance Act 2004 was subject to EU State Aid approval which issued on 20 August 2004.