PART II.

Customs and Excise.

5. —(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on every of the articles mentioned in the second column of the First Schedule to this Act imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937, a duty of customs at the rate stated in the third column of the said First Schedule opposite the mention of the article in the said second column.

(2) Where a percentage is stated in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act opposite the mention of any article in the second column of that Schedule, such statement shall be construed as meaning a rate of duty equal to that percentage of the value of such article.

(3) Wherever it is stated in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act that the licensing provision applies to a particular duty mentioned in that Schedule, the following provision shall apply and have effect in relation to that duty, that is to say—whenever the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce, so thinks proper, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise any particular person, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, to import without payment of the said duty any articles chargeable with the said duty either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper, without limit as to time or quantity or either of them or within a specified time or in a specified quantity.

(4) Subject to the provisions of the next preceding sub-section of this section, the provisions (if any) set forth in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act at any reference number in that Schedule shall have effect in respect of the duty mentioned at that reference number.

6. —(1) In lieu of the present customs duties, drawbacks, and allowance in respect of sugar, molasses, glucose, and saccharin, there shall be charged, levied, and paid in respect of all sugar, molasses, glucose and saccharin imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 1st day of June, 1937, the customs duties specified in the second column of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act, and there shall be paid and allowed in respect of all sugar, molasses, glucose, and saccharin so imported the drawbacks and allowance set out in Part II of the said Second Schedule.

(2) In lieu of the present excise duties, drawbacks, and allowances in respect of sugar, molasses, glucose, and saccharin, there shall, as on and from the 1st day of June, 1937, be charged, levied, and paid in respect of all sugar, molasses, glucose, and saccharin made in Saorstát Eireann the excise duties specified in the third and fourth columns of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act and there shall be allowed and paid in respect of all sugar, molasses, glucose, and saccharin so made the drawbacks and allowances set out in Part II of the said Second Schedule.

(3) Section 40 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), shall apply in relation to the customs duties imposed by this section in like manner as the said section applies in relation to the duties mentioned therein.

(4) The provisions contained in Part III of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1925 (No. 28 of 1925), shall apply in relation to the duties, drawbacks, and allowances imposed or allowed by this section in like manner as those provisions apply in relation to the duties, drawbacks, and allowances mentioned in the said First Schedule, but with and subject to the following modifications, that is to say:—

(a) in clause 5, the 1st day of June, 1937, shall be substituted for the 6th day of May, 1925;

(b) in clause 7, the reference to sections 26 and 27 of the said Finance Act, 1925 , shall be construed as a reference to this section.

(5) Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1931 (No. 31 of 1931), shall apply in relation to the duties, drawbacks, and allowances imposed or allowed by this section in like manner as it applies in relation to the duties, drawbacks, and allowances mentioned therein.

7. —(1) In lieu of the duty imposed by section 10 of the Finance Act, 1934 (No. 31 of 1934), a duty of customs shall be charged, levied, and paid—

(a) on every of the articles (whether completely or partially manufactured) mentioned in the second column in Part I of the Third Schedule to this Act (other than articles to which the said Part I is stated at the head thereof not to apply) imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937, at the rate (save as is otherwise provided by this section) stated in the third column of the said Part I of the said Third Schedule opposite the mention of the article in the said second column, and

(b) on every component part of any article (other than an accessory of any personal clothing or wearing apparel) mentioned in the second column in Part I of the Third Schedule to this Act which is imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937, at the rate (save as is otherwise provided by this section) at which duty is stated in the third column in the said Part I to be chargeable on the article of which such component part is a component part, and

(c) on every of the articles mentioned in the second column in Part II of the Third Schedule to this Act imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937, at the rate stated in the third column of the said Part II opposite the mention of the article in the said second column.

(2) In the case of the several articles mentioned in the second column in Parts III and IV of the Third Schedule to this Act and to which the said Parts are respectively stated at the head thereof to be applicable (including, in the case of articles mentioned in the said Part III, partially manufactured articles and, in the case of articles mentioned in the said Part IV, incomplete articles), duty at the rate stated in the third column in the said Part III or the said Part IV (whichever is applicable) opposite the mention of the article in the said second column shall be the minimum duty chargeable by virtue of this section in respect of each such article, and accordingly the duty imposed by this section shall, in respect of every such article, be charged at whichever of the following rates produces in each particular case the greater amount of duty, that is to say, the rate chargeable in respect of such article under Part I or Part II (as the case may be) of the said Third Schedule or the rate chargeable under whichever of Parts III and IV of the said Third Schedule is applicable to such article.

(3) The statement of a percentage in the third column of the Third Schedule to this Act opposite the mention of any article in the second column of that Schedule shall be taken and construed as meaning a rate of duty equal to that percentage of the value of such article.

(4) Whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that any article chargeable with the duty imposed by this section is imported for use exclusively in a stage play or other dramatic or musical representation or performance, they may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, permit such article to be imported without payment of the said duty.

(5) Where a shirt, collar, or cuff is exported from Saorstát Eireann and undergoes outside Saorstát Eireann the process of first dressing and is then reimported into Saorstát Eireann, the duty imposed by this section shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section 25 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), be charged, levied, and paid on such shirt, collar, or cuff on such reimportation and shall be so charged, levied, and paid at the rate which would be applicable if such shirt, collar, or cuff had not previously been exported from Saorstát Eireann.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section or the Third Schedule to this Act, the duty imposed by this section shall not be charged or levied—

(a) on boots, shoes, goloshes, sandals, clogs, or other external footwear, or on component parts or accessories thereof, nor

(b) on any accessory of personal clothing or wearing apparel which is imported separately from the clothing or apparel and is made wholly or mainly of non-textile materials, nor

(c) on any article which is a component part of any personal clothing or wearing apparel (other than an umbrella) and is made wholly or mainly of any non-textile material other than leather or fur, nor

(d) on any article which is a component part of any personal clothing or wearing apparel and is made wholly or mainly of leather and is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be suitable and intended for use in the manufacture of hats or caps, nor

(e) on any personal clothing or wearing apparel made wholly or mainly of paper, nor

(f) on any unassembled component parts of an umbrella, nor

(g) on any part of the following partial assemblies of component parts of an umbrella, that is to say:—

(i) separate ribs each having a stay attached,

(ii) assembled ferrules,

(iii) assembled runners,

(iv) assembled handles, nor

(h) on any article of a surgical or medical character intended to be worn because of or as a preventive against or remedy for any physical ailment or defect, nor

(i) on ornamental feathers or artificial flowers which are shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to be imported for use in the making or trimming of personal clothing or wearing apparel and are imported separately from such clothing or apparel, nor

(j) on hoods or shapes for the manufacture of hats which require for the purpose of such manufacture to be blocked, shaped, or cut, and in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the process of blocking, shaping, or cutting represents a substantial portion of the process of manufacture, nor

(k) on any component part or accessory of personal clothing or wearing apparel which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, is of the nature of a crest, badge, or motif, nor

(l) on any article which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, is designed, constructed, and intended for use by persons in the course of their employment as a protection against injury or disease, nor

(m) on any wig, toupet, or similar article.

(7) Whenever the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce, so thinks proper, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise any particular person, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, to import without payment of the duty imposed by this section any articles chargeable with such duty either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper, without limit as to time or quantity or either of them or within a specified time or in a specified quantity.

(8) In this section and in the Third Schedule to this Act the expression “wearing apparel” includes pocket handkerchiefs and umbrellas, neither the word “boys” nor the word “girls” includes infants, and the word “trousers” shall be construed as meaning a single article whether described as “trousers” or as “a pair of trousers”, and shall also be construed as including long trousers, short trousers, breeches, knickerbockers, and other similar articles.

8. —Where a consignment or parcel to which section 25 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924), applies is imported on or after the 15th day of April, 1937, and contains two or more classes of goods liable to customs duty and the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that such consignment or parcel is being imported as a gift to a person in Saorstát Eireann, the total amount of customs duties chargeable on such consignment or parcel shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the said section 25, be whichever of the following amounts is the greater, that is to say, the sum of two shillings and sixpence or the total of the several amounts of customs duties chargeable on the respective classes of dutiable goods contained in such consignment or parcel.

9. —The duty of customs on wheat imposed by section 19 of the Finance Act, 1935 (No. 28 of 1935), shall not be charged or levied on any wheat imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937.

10. —(1) In lieu of the duty of customs imposed by section 18 of the Finance Act, 1935 (No. 28 of 1935), there shall be charged, levied, and paid on all tea imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 14th day of June, 1937, a duty of customs at the rate of twopence the pound.

(2) The provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duty imposed by this section with the substitution of the expression “Saorstát Eireann” for the expression “Great Britain and Ireland” and as though the Second Schedule to that Act contained a list of goods which were, by way of preferential rate, to be admitted free of duty, and tea which is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners not to have been subjected to any process of blending outside the country of origin were included in that list, and tea were omitted from the list of goods in the said Second Schedule to which five-sixths of the full rate is made applicable as a preferential rate.

11. —(1) Every Act mentioned at the head of a Part of the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall be amended as follows, that is to say, every section, schedule, or reference number of or in such Act which is mentioned in the second column of the said Part of the said Fourth Schedule shall be amended in the manner stated in the third column of the said Part of the said Fourth Schedule opposite the mention of such section, schedule, or reference number (as the case may be) in the said second column.

(2) Every amendment which is so stated as aforesaid in the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall have effect as on and from the 15th day of April, 1937.

(3) The particulars stated in the fourth column of the Fourth Schedule to this Act are inserted in the said Fourth Schedule solely to facilitate the identification of the duties respectively affected by the several amendments mentioned in the said Fourth Schedule, and accordingly nothing contained in the said fourth column shall affect the construction of this section or the said Fourth Schedule or operate to extend, limit, or control the extent or effect of any amendments mentioned in the said Fourth Schedule.

12. —(1) The several duties mentioned in the third column of the Fifth Schedule to this Act and respectively imposed by the enactments mentioned in the second column of the said Fifth Schedule shall not be charged or levied on any articles imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 15th day of April, 1937.

(2) The particulars stated in the fourth column of the Fifth Schedule to this Act are inserted in the said Fifth Schedule solely to facilitate identification of the several duties mentioned in the third column of the said Fifth Schedule, and accordingly nothing contained in the said fourth column shall affect the construction or limit or control the operation of this section and the second and third columns of the said Fifth Schedule.

13. —Whenever the quantity of cement imported under an import licence granted under Part V of the Cement Act, 1933 (No. 17 of 1933), is less than the quantity of cement authorised by such licence to be imported, the Minister for Industry and Commerce shall repay to the licensee under such licence so much of the fee paid in pursuance of section 36 of the said Act in respect of such licence as is proportionate to the difference between the quantity of cement imported under such licence and the quantity of cement authorised by such licence to be imported.

14. —Whenever an officer of customs requires, under section 65 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, as amended by section 4 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1935 (No. 7 of 1935), or under section 1 of the Revenue Act, 1909, as similarly amended, the importer of any goods or his agent to produce a certificate indicating the true origin of such goods, such officer may require such importer or his agent to produce such certificate in duplicate and, where the origin of such goods as stated in such certificate is a country between which and Saorstát Eireann a trade agreement is in force, such officer may transmit one duplicate of such certificate through the appropriate channels to a diplomatic representative or a consular or other officer of the government of such country.