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13 1993

FINANCE ACT, 1993

Chapter II

Excise Duties on, and Licensing of, Vehicles

Interpretation ( Chapter II ).

57. —In this Chapter, save where the context otherwise requires—

the Act of 1920” means the Roads Act, 1920;

the Act of 1933” means the Road Traffic Act, 1933 ;

the Act of 1952” means the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 ;

the Act of 1961” means the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

the Act of 1992” means the Finance Act, 1992 ;

licensing authority” means the council of a county, or the corporation of a county borough, which grants licences under section 1 of the Act of 1952 or driving licences or provisional licences under Part III of the Act of 1961;

the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

owner” has the meaning assigned to it by section 130 of the Act of 1992 and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

the register” means the register established and maintained by the Revenue Commissioners under section 131 of the Act of 1992 and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations;

vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle within the meaning of section 130 of the Act of 1992.

Regulations.

58. —(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Chapter as prescribed or to be prescribed or in relation to any matters referred to in this Chapter as the subject of regulations or for the purpose of giving full effect to this Chapter and such regulations may provide for such incidental, consequential, supplemental or transitional matters as are necessary for the purpose of giving full effect to this Chapter.

(2) A person who contravenes a provision of regulations under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(3) Regulations made under this Chapter shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next subsequent 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulations are laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Extension of powers of licensing authorities in relation to grant of certain licences.

59. —(1) A licensing authority may grant a driving licence or a provisional licence under Part III of the Act of 1961 to a person who does not ordinarily reside in the functional area of the authority if the person has previously held either of those licences or a driving licence under Part III of the Act of 1933.

(2) A licensing authority may grant a licence under section 1 of the Act of 1952 in respect of a vehicle which is normally kept at an address outside the functional area of the authority if the vehicle has previously been the subject of such a licence.

(3) This section shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by the Minister by order or orders.

Records.

60. —(1) (a) The Minister and a licensing authority may each establish and maintain records in relation to licences under the Act of 1952, trade licences under section 21 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992 , driving licences under Part III of the Act of 1933 and driving licences and provisional licences under Part III of the Act of 1961.

(b) Records established under this section may contain information derived from registers established under section 6 of the Act of 1920 and shall contain such other information in relation to the licences aforesaid, the holders of the licences, the duties of excise payable thereon and the vehicles licensed under the Act of 1952 as the Minister may determine.

(c) Records referred to in paragraph (a) shall be established and maintained in such form as the Minister may determine including a form that is not legible if it is capable of being converted into a legible form.

(2) A licensing authority shall furnish to the Minister or another licensing authority such information, in such form and at such times as he directs for the purpose of the establishment and maintenance by him or it of records under this section.

(3) An officer of a Minister of the Government, a licensing authority or the competent authority for licensing vehicles and drivers of vehicles in another Member State of the European Communities, an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, a member of the Garda Síochána or such (if any) other persons as may be prescribed shall have access to and may inspect and examine records established under this section and may—

(a) take, or be supplied by the Minister or the licensing authority concerned, as may be appropriate, with, such information from the records as the officer, member or other person aforesaid may reasonably require, and

(b) take, or be supplied by the Minister or the licensing authority concerned, as may be appropriate, with, such copies of records maintained by the Minister or the authority, as the case may be, or of such extracts from such records as the officer, member or other person aforesaid may reasonably require.

Evidence.

61. —(1) In any proceedings a certificate signed by an officer of the Minister authorised by the Minister for the purposes of this section and containing information stated to be taken from records maintained by the Minister under section 60 or records relating to vehicles or drivers of vehicles maintained by the Minister under any other provision of or made under any statute or, as the case may be, information obtained by the Minister under section 131 (7) of the Act of 1992 shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

(2) In any proceedings a certificate signed by an officer of a licensing authority authorised by the authority for the purposes of this section and containing information stated to be taken from records maintained by the authority under section 60 or records relating to vehicles or drivers of vehicles maintained by the authority under any other provisions of or made under any statute shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

(3) In any proceedings a document purporting to be a certificate under subsection (1) or (2) shall be deemed to be such a certificate, to have been signed by an officer of the Minister or, as the case may be, the licensing authority, concerned duly authorised for the purpose under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, unless the contrary is shown.

(4) A certificate under this section that purports to bear a facsimile of the signature of the authorised officer concerned or a copy of such a signature applied by means of a stamp or produced by a computer shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have been signed by the officer.

Miscellaneous.

62. —(1) The Minister may give the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners particulars of any vehicles that have been entered in the register but in respect of which a licence under section 1 of the Act of 1952 has not been taken out within 7 working days after the date of the entry.

(2) (a) A member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Revenue Commissioners and on production of his authorisation to the person concerned, if so requested, may require a person who uses, parks or otherwise keeps a vehicle in a public place to give him evidence of the ownership of the vehicle and may, using such force, if any, as may be necessary inspect the vehicle.

(b) A person who—

(i) obstructs or interferes with a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners in the performance of his functions under this section, or

(ii) fails or refuses to give the member or officer his name and address when required by the member or officer to do so or gives him a name or address that is false or misleading shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction—

(I) if the offence is under subparagraph (i), to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or

(II) if the offence is under subparagraph (ii), to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

Amendment of certain provisions relating to penalties for offences in relation to licensing and registration of vehicles.

63. —Where, after the passing of this Act, an act or omission occurs in respect of which a person would, but for this subsection, have incurred the penalty provided for in any provision specified in column (2) of the Table to this subsection (as amended by section 72 of the Finance Act, 1982 ) at any reference number of an Act specified in that column at that reference number, the person shall, in lieu of the penalty so provided for, be liable to the penalty specified in column (3) of the said Table at that reference number and that provision shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

TABLE

Reference Number

Provision of Act

Penalty

(1)

(2)

(3)

1

Section 12 (4) of the Act of 1920

A fine not exceeding £1,000

2

Section 13 (1) of the Act of 1920

An excise penalty not exceeding £1,000

3

Section 13 (2) of the Act of 1920

A fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months

4

Section 13 (4) of the Act of 1920

A fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months

5

Section 2 (2) of the Act of 1952

An excise penalty not exceeding £1,000

6

Section 76 of the Finance Act, 1976

A fine not exceeding £1,000

Amendment of the Act of 1920.

64. —(1) Section 12 (1) of the Act of 1920 is hereby amended by—

(a) the deletion of paragraphs (a) and (g), and

(b) the insertion in paragraph (c) after “prescribing” of “in relation to vehicles in respect of which a licence under the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , was first taken out before the 1st day of January, 1993,”.

(2) Regulations under the said paragraphs (a) or (g) in force immediately before the passing of this Act shall continue in force after such passing and may be amended or revoked by the Minister by regulations under section 58 .