Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 172G

Authorised withholding agent

Section 172G defines an authorised withholding agent (AWA) and sets out the conditions for authorisation, the terms of the AWA agreement with Revenue, and the rules on duration, revocation and renewal of that authorisation.

• An AWA is an intermediary authorised by Revenue to receive distributions from Irish resident companies without DWT being deducted, on the basis that the AWA then operates the DWT scheme itself when paying on distributions to beneficiaries.
• To become an AWA, the intermediary must be Irish tax resident (or resident in a treaty country and operating through an Irish branch), enter into a formal AWA agreement with Revenue, and receive written authorisation from Revenue.
• The AWA agreement imposes extensive obligations including retaining declarations and notifications, reporting suspected false declarations, filing DWT returns, paying DWT to the Collector-General, and submitting auditor compliance reports.
• An AWA authorisation lasts for seven years and may be renewed, but Revenue can revoke it at any time if the AWA fails to comply with the agreement or is otherwise unsuitable.