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6 1975

FINANCE ACT, 1975

PART II

Customs and Excise

Beer.

36. —(1) In this section—

the Act of 1973” means the Finance Act, 1973 ;

the Order of 1973” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 208) (Beer, Spirits and Tobacco) Order, 1973.

(2) In lieu of the duty of excise imposed by section 47 (1) of the Act of 1973, as varied by paragraph 4 of the Order of 1973, there shall be charged, levied and paid on all beer brewed within the State on or after the 16th day of January, 1975, a duty of excise at the rate of £42·047 for every thirty-six gallons of worts of a specific gravity of one thousand and fifty-five degrees.

(3) In lieu of the duty of customs imposed by section 47 (2) of the Act of 1973, as varied by paragraph 4 of the Order of 1973, there shall, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, be charged, levied and paid on all beer of any description imported into the State, a duty of customs at the rate of £42·047 for every thirty-six gallons of beer of which the worts were before fermentation of a specific gravity of one thousand and fifty-five degrees.

(4) There shall be allowed and paid on the exportation as merchandise or the shipment for use as stores of beer on which it is shown, to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, that the duty imposed by subsection (2) or (3) of this section has been paid, a drawback calculated according to the original specific gravity of the beer, at the rate of £42·060 on every thirty-six gallons of beer of which the original specific gravity was one thousand and fifty-five degrees.

(5) Where, in the case of beer which is chargeable with the duty imposed by subsection (2) or (3) of this section or in the case of beer on which drawback under subsection (4) of this section is payable, the specific gravity of the beer is not one thousand and fifty-five degrees, the duty or drawback shall be varied proportionately.

(6) Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1933 , shall not apply or have effect in relation to the duty of customs to which this section refers.

Spirits.

37. —(1) In this section—

the Order of 1972” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 200) (Customs and Excise Duties and Form of Tariff) Order, 1972;

the Act of 1973” means the Finance Act, 1973 ;

the Order of 1973” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 208) (Beer, Spirits and Tobacco) Order, 1973.

(2) The duty of customs imposed by section 3 (1) of the Finance Act, 1920, on spirits described in column (1) of Part I of the First Schedule thereto, as amended by section 48 of and Part I of the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1973, shall be varied, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, by the addition of the sum of—

(a) £6·851 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date in respect of every gallon of Perfumed Spirits entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested;

(b) £5·781 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date in respect of every gallon of liqueurs, cordials, mixtures and other preparations in bottle entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested;

(c) £4·282 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date in respect of every gallon computed at proof of spirits of any description not heretofore mentioned and mixtures and preparations containing spirits.

(3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to—

(a) cider and perry mentioned at tariff code numbers 2207-254, 2207-262, 2207-426, 2207-434, 2207-627 and 2207-635 in the Schedule to the Order of 1972, or

(b) denatured spirits of any description mentioned at tariff code numbers 2208-215 and 2208-223 in the Schedule to the Order of 1972, or

(c) perfumery, cosmetics or toilet preparations of tariff heading number 33.06 in the Schedule to the Order of 1972 which are based on the spirits described in paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(4) The duty of excise on spirits imposed by section 3 (2) of the Finance Act, 1920, as amended by section 48 (3) of the Act of 1973 and paragraph 5 of the Order of 1973, shall be varied, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, by the addition of the sum of £4·282 to the rate of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

(5) Nothing in this section shall operate to relieve from or to prejudice or affect the additional customs duties or the additional excise duty in respect of immature spirits imposed by section 9 of the Finance Act, 1926 .

Tobacco.

38. —(1) The duty of customs on tobacco imposed by section 20 of the Finance Act, 1932 , shall, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, be varied by the addition of the sum of £1·236 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

(2) The duty of excise on tobacco imposed by section 19 of the Finance Act, 1934 , shall, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, be varied by the addition of the sum of £1·236 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

Wine.

39. —(1) The duty of customs on wine imported into the State imposed by section 39 of the Finance Act, 1969 , as amended by paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 213) (Customs Duties and Form of Customs Tariff) Order, 1974, shall, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, be varied by the addition of the sum of £0·562 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

(2) The duty of excise on Irish wine imposed by section 15 of the Finance Act, 1966 , shall, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, be varied by the addition of the sum of £0·562 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

Table waters.

40. —(1) In this section “the order of 1972” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 200) (Customs and Excise Duties and Form of Tariff) Order, 1972.

(2) The duty of customs imposed by paragraph 5 of the Order of 1972 on—

(a) the goods of tariff heading number 22.02 and of tariff code numbers 2201-227, 2207-321, 2207-474 and 2207-689 in the Schedule to the Order of 1972, and

(b) the goods of tariff heading number 20.07 in the Schedule to the Order of 1972 which are prepared for consumption as a beverage without dilution,

shall be varied, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, by the addition of the sum of £0·0257 to each of the rates of such duty chargeable immediately before that date.

(3) The duty of excise imposed by section 4 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as varied by section 14 of the Finance Act, 1966 , and paragraph 20 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 187) (Customs and Excise Duties and Form of Tariff) Order, 1970, shall be further varied, as on and from the 16th day of January, 1975, by the addition of the sum of £0·0257 to the rate of duty chargeable immediately before that date.

Bets.

41. —The duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926 , shall (subject and without prejudice to the provisions of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931 ) be charged, levied and paid on bets entered into on or after the 20th day of January, 1975, at the rate of twenty per cent. of the amount of the bet in lieu of the rate of fifteen per cent. mentioned in section 40 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 .

Gaming licences.

42. —(1) This section applies to gaming licences issued under section 19 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 .

(2) In lieu of the excise duty imposed by section 17 of the Finance Act, 1956 , on gaming licences to which this section applies there shall be charged, levied and paid on such licences issued on or after the 16th day of January, 1975, an excise duty at the following rates, that is to say:—

where the period for which the licence is to be issued as specified in the certificate under the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 , authorising the issue of the licence—

(a) does not exceed three months, twenty-five pounds;

(b) exceeds three months but does not exceed six months, fifty pounds;

(c) exceeds six months but does not exceed nine months, seventy-five pounds;

(d) exceeds nine months, one hundred pounds.

Gaming machine licence duty.

43. —(1) In this section—

gaming” and “gaming licence” have the same meanings respectively, as in the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 ;

premises” means an amusement hall or funfair in respect of which a gaming licence is in force;

officer” means an officer of Customs and Excise.

(2) (a) A machine is a gaming machine if—

(i) it is constructed or adapted for gaming, and

(ii) the player pays to play the machine whether by the insertion of a coin or token or in some other way, and

(iii) the outcome of the game is determined by the action of the machine, whether or not provision is made for manipulation of the machine by the player,

but a machine which, when played by a player once and successfully, affords that player no more than an opportunity to play again (once or more often) without paying to play shall be deemed not to be a gaming machine.

(b) A gaming machine which provides more than one individual playing position shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as a number of gaming machines equal to the number of individual playing positions provided on the machine.

(c) A gaming machine shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be available for play unless—

(i) the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied, and so certify in writing, that by reason of—

(I) the inaccessibility to the public of the place in which it is stored, or

(II) the state in which it is,

it cannot be played by the public, and

(ii) it remains stored in the place aforesaid or remains in the state aforesaid.

(3) A holder of a gaming licence shall not cause or permit a gaming machine to be made available for play on the premises to which the licence relates unless he is the holder of a licence (in this section referred to as a gaming machine licence) for the time being in force granted under this section.

(4) (a) The Revenue Commissioners shall, on the application of the holder of a gaming licence and on payment by the holder of the amount payable by him in respect of the duty of excise imposed by this section, grant the holder a gaming machine licence in respect of the premises specified in the application for such number of gaming machines as is specified in the application.

(b) A gaming machine licence in respect of any premises shall remain in force for such period (not exceeding one year and not exceeding the period for which the gaming licence in respect of those premises in force at the time of the grant of the gaming machine licence is expressed to remain in force) as is specified in the application therefor.

(c) The period for which a gaming machine licence is to remain in force, the number of gaming machines, and the premises, to which it relates shall be specified in the licence.

(5) (a) A person who, in relation to any premises, contravenes subsection (3) shall be guilty of a separate offence in respect of each gaming machine made available for play on the premises and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £300 in respect of each offence, and the machine in respect of which the offence was committed shall be liable to forfeiture.

(b) A holder of a gaming machine licence who causes or permits one or more gaming machines in excess of the number specified in the licence to be made available for play on the premises to which the licence relates shall be guilty of a separate offence in respect of each gaming machine so caused or permitted to be made available for play and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £300 in respect of each offence and such number of machines as is equal to the difference between the number so specified and the number so made available shall be liable to forfeiture.

(6) There shall be charged, levied and paid on the grant of a gaming machine licence a duty of excise at whichever of the following rates is appropriate having regard to the period for which the licence is to remain in force, that is to say, where the period for which the licence is to remain in force—

(a) does not exceed three months, £12·50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,

(b) exceeds three months but does not exceed six months, £25 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,

(c) exceeds six months but does not exceed nine months, £37·50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates,

(d) exceeds nine months, £50 for each gaming machine to which the licence relates.

(7) (a) A gaming machine licence may, pursuant to a request contained in the application therefor, be expressed to relate only to Sundays and holidays in the period specified in the licence for which it is to remain in force and, where a licence is so expressed—

(i) the duty of excise imposed by subsection (6) of this section shall be charged, levied and paid on the grant of the licence at two-fifths of the rate at which it would have been chargeable if the licence were not so expressed, and

(ii) the licence shall be deemed, for the purpose of subsections (3) and (10) (b) of this section, not to be in force on days in the period aforesaid other than Sundays and holidays.

(b) In this subsection “holidays” means days which are public holidays for the purposes of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973 .

(8) On the application of the holder of a gaming machine licence and on payment by him of the appropriate additional amount in respect of the duty of excise imposed by this section, the Revenue Commissioners may increase the number of gaming machines specified in the licence.

(9) On the application of the holder of a gaming machine licence, the Revenue Commissioners may, subject to such conditions as they think fit to impose, permit the transfer of the licence from the holder to another person who is the holder of a gaming licence or permit the licence, in lieu of applying to the premises specified in the licence at the time of the application, to apply in relation to another premises in respect of which a gaming licence is in force and shall amend the licence in accordance with any permission under this subsection.

(10) (a) An officer may at all reasonable times enter premises on which gaming machines are, or are believed by such officer to be, available for play and may there make such search and investigation as such officer shall think proper, and may inspect and take copies or extracts from any books or other documents there found relating to, or believed by such officer to relate to, gaming machines.

(b) Where gaming machines are made available for play on premises in respect of which a gaming machine licence is not in force or in respect of which a gaming machine licence is in force and the number of gaming machines made available for play is in excess of the number specified in the licence, all the machines or, as the case may be, such number of them, as is equal to the difference between the number so specified and the number so made available may be seized by an officer.

(c) A person who resists, obstructs, or impedes an officer in the exercise of any power conferred on such officer by this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £100.

(11) (a) The holder of a gaming machine licence shall cause the licence to be displayed at all times in a conspicuous position near the entrance to the premises to which the licence relates and shall, on demand by an officer at any reasonable time, produce the licence for the officer's inspection.

(b) A person who contravenes paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £100.

(12) The Revenue Commissioners may make regulations to secure the duty of excise imposed by this section.

(13) Nothing in this section shall operate to make lawful anything which, apart from this section, is not lawful.

(14) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of June, 1975.

Increase of dog duty and penalty for failure to pay dog duty.

44. —(1) Section 37 (1) of the Finance Act, 1925 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “£1” for “five shillings”.

(2) Section 33 of the Finance Act, 1963 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “£25” for “£10” in subsections (1) and (2).

(3) Section 26 of the Finance Act, 1941 , is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that any person guilty of an offence under the said section 37 of the Finance Act, 1925 , shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £10.

(4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

Confirmation of Orders and provision in relation to Imposition of Duties (No. 216) (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Order, 1975.

45. —(1) The Orders mentioned in the Table to this subsection are hereby confirmed.

Table

S.I. No.174 of 1974

Imposition of Duties (No. 213) (Customs Duties and Form of Customs Tariff) Order, 1974.

S.I. No. 350 of 1974

Imposition of Duties (No. 214) (Mineral Hydrocarbon Light Oil) Order, 1974.

S.I. No. 356 of 1974

Imposition of Duties (No. 215) (Customs Duties and Form of Customs Tariff) Order, 1974.

S.I. No. 5 of 1975

Imposition of Duties (No. 216) (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Order, 1975.

(2) The appropriate repayments shall be made having regard to the provisions of the Imposition of Duties (No. 216) (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Order, 1975, in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Minister for Local Government.

Amendment of Imposition of Duties Act, 1957.

46. Section 1 of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 , is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph (e) of the following paragraph:

“(ee) where a customs duty on goods of any particular description—

(i) is terminated by the order and, in the opinion of the Government, the whole of the duty was of a fiscal nature or there was a fiscal element in the duty, or

(ii) is varied by the substitution for the rate at which the duty was chargeable of another such rate and there was, in the opinion of the Government, a fiscal element in the duty before such variation and the substituted rate is equal to the rate for which it was substituted less so much thereof as, in the opinion of the Government, was the fiscal element in the duty,

impose, whether with or without qualifications, limitations, drawbacks, allowances, exemptions or preferential rates, and as from any specified day, on goods of that particular description imported into the State an excise duty at a rate equal—

(I) if, in the opinion of the Government, the whole of the customs duty was of a fiscal nature, to the rate of such duty, and

(II) if, in the opinion of the Government, there was a fiscal element in the customs duty, to the part of the rate of such duty that, in the opinion of the Government, was the fiscal element therein,

and the references in paragraph (e) of this section to any excise duty and in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section to any duty shall be construed as including references to any duty imposed under this paragraph and a duty imposed under this paragraph shall be deemed, for the purposes of the said paragraph (h), to be a customs duty and an excise duty;”.