PART II

Customs and Excise

38. —In this Part—

“the Act of 1976 ”means the Finance Act, 1976 ;

“the Order of 1975” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. No. 307 of 1975).

39. —(1) The duty of excise on beer imposed by paragraph 7 (1) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the rate of £67.976 for, in the case of all beer brewed within the State, every 36 gallons of worts of a specific gravity of 1,055 degrees, and, in the case of all imported beer, every 36 gallons of beer of which the worts were before fermentation of a specific gravity of 1,055 degrees, in lieu of the rates mentioned in section 36 (1) of the Act of 1976.

(2) Subject to paragraph 4 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 237) (Beer) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 67 of 1979), the drawback on beer provided for in paragraph 7 (3) of the Order of 1975 shall, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, be calculated according to the original specific gravity of the beer at the rate of £67,976 on every 36 gallons of beer of which the original specific gravity was 1,055 degrees in lieu of the rate mentioned in section 46 of the Finance Act, 1977 .

40. —(1) The duty of excise on spirits imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the several rates specified in the Third Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in the Second Schedule to the Act of 1976.

(2) Nothing in this section shall operate to relieve from or to prejudice or affect the additional duty of excise in respect of immature spirits imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975 at the several rates specified in the third column of the First Schedule to the said Order.

41. —(1) In this section—

“the Order of 1977” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 233) (Rates of Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Order, 1977 (S.I. No. 384 of 1977);

“cavendish or negrohead”, “cigars”, “hard pressed tobacco”, “other pipe tobacco” and “tobacco products” have the same meaning as they have in the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 .

(2) The duty of excise on tobacco products imposed by section 2 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the several rates specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in the Order of 1977.

42. —(1) The duty of excise on wine imposed by paragraph 5 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the several rates specified in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1976.

(2) The duty of excise on made wine imposed by paragraph 6 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the several rates specified in Part II of the Fifth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1976.

43. —(1) In this section—

“actual alcoholic strength by volume” means the number of volumes of pure alcohol contained at a temperature of 20°C in 100 volumes of the product at that temperature;

“% vol” means alcoholic strength by volume.

(2) The duty of excise on cider and perry imposed by paragraph 8 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 8th day of February, 1979, at the several rates specified in the Sixth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the rate specified in the said paragraph 8 (2).

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and in lieu of the rate of £2.466 the gallon mentioned in the Sixth Schedule to this Act, the duty of the excise referred to in the said subsection (2) shall be charged, levied and paid at the rate of £1.25 the gallon on any stocks of cider or perry of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 8.7% vol in the ownership or possession of a licensed manufacturer of cider or perry at midnight on the 7th day of February, 1979, if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the total quantity of such stocks in the ownership or possession of that manufacturer did not exceed 20,000 gallons.

44. — Section 2 of the Betting Act, 1931 , is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (2) of “£500” for “one hundred pounds” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1963 ) and the said subsection (2), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(2) Every person who carries on business or acts as a bookmaker in contravention of this section and every person who holds himself out or represents himself to be a bookmaker or a licensed bookmaker in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of £500.

45. — Section 15 of the Finance Act, 1934 , is hereby repealed.

46. —(1) It is hereby declared that the exportation from the State of produce that is subject, upon such exportation, to payment of a duty imposed by the Imposition of Duties (No. 239) (Agricultural Produce) (Cattle and Milk) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 152 of 1979), or by the Imposition of Duties (No. 240) (Agricultural Produce) (Cereals and Sugar Beet) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 153 of 1979), shall be prohibited unless, before such exportation, the amount of the duty is paid to the Revenue Commissioners or security that is, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, adequate for its payment is given to the Revenue Commissioners.

(2) It is hereby declared that section 15 (2) (a) of the Finance Act, 1966 , shall, in relation to the duty imposed by that section or any duty to which that section is applied by virtue of section 1 (h) of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 , be construed as enabling, and as always having enabled, the Revenue Commissioners to provide by regulations for the withholding or recovery, from such persons as may be specified in the regulations, by persons specified in the regulations, of an amount equal to the amount of such duty of excise, in the manner and subject to the conditions so specified.

47. —The Imposition of Duties (No. 234) (Excise Duties on Hydrocarbon Oils and Beer) Order, 1978, (S.I. No. 2 of 1978), is hereby confirmed.