PART 3

Customs and Excise

Miscellaneous

154. —(1) In this section and in Schedule 4—

“Act of 1977” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 ;

“cigarettes”, “cigars”, “fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes” and “smoking tobacco” have the same meanings as they have in the Act of 1977, as amended by section 86 of the Finance Act, 1997 .

(2) The duty of excise on tobacco products imposed by section 2 of the Act of 1977, shall, in lieu of the several rates specified in Schedule 3 to the Finance Act, 2000 , be charged, levied and paid, as on and from 1 January 2001 at the several rates specified in Schedule 4.

155. —(1) The rebate of duty on mineral hydrocarbon light oil provided for in section 56(3) of the Finance Act, 1988 , shall, as respects mineral hydrocarbon light oil on which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that duty at the rate specified in section 89(2) of the Finance Act, 1998 , has been paid on or after 7 December 2000, be calculated at the rate of £86.92 per 1,000 litres.

(2) The duty of excise on hydrocarbon oil imposed by Paragraph 12(1) of the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. No. 307 of 1975), shall, in lieu of the rate specified in section 82(5) of the Finance Act, 1997 , be charged, levied and paid, as on and from 7 December 2000, at the rate of £196.14 per 1,000 litres.

(3) The duty of excise on substitute motor fuel imposed by section 116(2) of the Finance Act, 1995 , shall, in lieu of the rate specified in section 82(6) of the Finance Act, 1997 , be charged, levied and paid, as on and from 7 December 2000, at the rate of £196.14 per 1,000 litres.

(4) Subsection (2) shall, on and from such day as may be specified by order of the Minister for Finance, apply only to hydrocarbon oil with a maximum sulphur content of 50 milligrammes per kilogramme.

156. —(1) The Finance Act, 1999 , is amended by the substitution of the following Schedule for Schedule 2:

“SCHEDULE 2

RATES OF MINERAL OIL TAX

”.

(2) (a) The Finance Act, 1999 , is amended by the substitution of the following Schedule for Schedule 2 (inserted by subsection (1)):

“SCHEDULE 2

RATES OF MINERAL OIL TAX

”.

(b) This subsection shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance appoints by order.

157. —Section 10 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1989 ) of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , is amended in subsection (5) by the substitution of “£1,500” for “£500”.

158. —Section 10A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , is amended—

(a) in subsection (3)(a) by the substitution of “£1,500” for “£1,000”, and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) of this section, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown—

(a) that duty had not been paid in respect of any pack or packs which do not have a tax stamp affixed thereto,

(b) that in respect of any pack or packs which do not have a tax stamp affixed thereto—

(i) section 104 (2), of the Finance Act, 2001 does not apply,

(ii) the pack or packs are not being held under a duty-suspension arrangement, and

(iii) the Revenue Commissioners have not permitted, under section 2A(1), payment of the duty to be subject to section 2A(4),

(c) in the case of a prosecution for keeping for sale or delivery, that the tobacco products concerned were so kept and were not kept for private use,

(d) that a thing is a cigarette or other tobacco product where, in the opinion of an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, it is contained in any form of packaging which, by virtue of any wording thereon, its shape and other characteristics, is indicative of the contents consisting of one or more than one cigarette or of another tobacco product and the officer so states that opinion.”.

159. —Section 11 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , is hereby amended by the substitution of “£1,500” for “£1,000”.

160. — Section 21 of the Finance Act, 1935 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1983 ), is amended in subsection (12) by the substitution of “a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of “£1,500” for “a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of “£1,000”.

161. — Section 72 of the Finance Act, 1986 , is amended in subsection (4) by the substitution of “a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of “£1,500” for “a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be) of “£1,000”.

162. — Section 57 of the Finance Act, 1988 , is amended in subsection (3)(a) by the substitution of “an excise penalty not exceeding “£1,500” for “an excise penalty not exceeding “£1,000”.

163. — Section 94 of the Finance Act, 1999 , is amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of the following definitions, respectively, for the definitions of “standard tank” and “substitute fuel”:

“‘standard tank’, in relation to a motor vehicle or other mechanically propelled vehicle, means—

(a) a tank of a type permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all vehicles of the same type as the vehicle concerned and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly, both for the purpose of propulsion and, where appropriate, for the operation, during transport, of refrigeration systems and other systems,

(b) a gas tank fitted to a vehicle designed for the direct use of gas as a fuel and a tank fitted to any other system with which the vehicle may be equipped, or

(c) a tank of a type permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all containers of the same type as the container concerned and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly for the operation, during transport, of the refrigeration systems or other systems with which a special container is equipped;

‘substitute fuel’ means any product, including biofuel, in liquid form, manufactured, produced or intended for use, capable of being used or used as fuel for a motor or as heating fuel but does not include an additive, hydrocarbon oil or liquefied petroleum gas;”.

164. — Section 99 of the Finance Act, 1999 , is amended by the substitution of the following for subsection (1) (inserted by the Finance Act, 2000 ):

“(1) Where a person who—

(a) carries on a passenger road service within the meaning of section 2 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 , pursuant to a passenger licence granted under section 11 of that Act,

(b) lawfully carries on, other than pursuant to such a licence, such a passenger road service,

(c) provides a school transport service pursuant to an agreement with the Minister for Education and Science, or

(d) carries on a passenger road service or provides a school transport service pursuant to an agreement with a person to whom and in respect of such service to which paragraph (a), (b) or (c), as may be appropriate, applies,

shows to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that heavy oil on which mineral oil tax has been paid has been used by such person for combustion in the engine of a mechanically propelled vehicle in the course of providing such service, the Commissioners shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit, repay to such person the amount of mineral oil tax paid less an amount calculated at the rate of £17.90 per 1,000 litres on such mineral oil so used.”.

165. — Section 100 of the Finance Act, 1999 , is amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (f):

“(f) mineral oil present, at the time of importation into the State, in the standard tank of a commercial motor vehicle or of an other commercial mechanically propelled vehicle provided that, in the case of oil in a fuel tank, such oil was released in a Member State for use as a propellant;”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (k):

“(k) mineral oil in respect of which the Minister thinks it proper to repay or remit mineral oil tax or part of that tax to the extent that the Minister thinks proper;

(l) mineral oil used by a manufacturer in the production of mineral oil.”.

166. — Section 102 of the Finance Act, 1999 , is amended in subsections (2) and (4)(a) by the substitution of “a fine of “£1,500” for “a fine of “£1,000”.

167. —(1) In this section—

“Act of 1993” means the Finance Act, 1993 .

(2) Chapter III of Part II of the Act of 1993 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following for section 74, as amended by section 81 of the Finance Act, 1996 :

and

(b) by the substitution of the following for subsection (3) of section 75:

“(3) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions for securing payment of the duty as they may think fit to impose, permit payment of the duty imposed by paragraph 6(2) of the Order of 1975, to be deferred to a day not later than the last day of the month succeeding the month in which the duty is payable.”,

(3) The Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. 307 of 1975) is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following for subparagraph (3) (inserted by section 93 of the Finance Act, 1998 ) of Paragraph 4:

“(3) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions for securing payment of the duty as they may think fit to impose, permit payment of the duty imposed by subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph to be deferred to a day not later than the last day of the month succeeding the month in which the duty is payable.”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following for subparagraph (2A) (as amended by section 75 of the Finance Act, 1993 ) of Paragraph 5:

“(2A) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions for securing payment of the duty as they may think fit to impose, permit payment of the duty imposed by subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph to be deferred to a day not later than the last day of the month in which the duty is payable.”.

168. —Chapter IV of Part II of the Finance Act, 1992 , is amended by the insertion of the following after section 135B:

“135C.—(1) Where a person first registers a category A vehicle or a category B vehicle during the period from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002 and the Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is a series production hybrid electric vehicle, the Commissioners may remit or repay to that person 50 per cent of the vehicle registration tax payable or paid in accordance with paragraphs (a), (aa), (b) or (c) of section 132(3).

(2) In this section ‘hybrid electric vehicle’ means a vehicle that derives its motive power from a combination of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine and is capable of being driven on electric propulsion alone for a material part of its normal driving cycle.”,

169. —(1) Section 130 of the Finance Act, 1992 , is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “category B vehicle” (as amended by section 72 of the Finance Act, 1996 ):

“‘category B vehicle’ means a vehicle (other than a category A vehicle, a category D vehicle, a motorcycle or a listed vehicle) which—

(a) in the case of a crew cab—

(i) has a cargo area length of not more than 45 per cent of its wheelbase, and

(ii) is not more than 2,519 kilograms gross vehicle weight,

or

(b) in the case of a motor caravan, is not more than 3,000 kilograms unladen weight, or

(c) is not more than 2,519 kilograms gross vehicle weight or not more than 2.449 metres wheelbase:

but if a vehicle is of not more than 1,600 kilograms unladen weight and the roofed area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat has a load volume of more than 2 cubic metres when measured in such manner as the Commissioners may approve, the vehicle shall not be regarded as a category B vehicle;”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “crew cab” (inserted by section 72 of the Finance Act, 1996 ):

“‘crew cab’ means a vehicle which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to comprise a cab with seating for a driver and a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 other persons and a cargo area to the rear of the cab which is completely separated from the cab by a partition which is permanently fixed;”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

170. — Section 101 of the Finance Act, 1999 , is amended by the substitution, in subsection (8), of “£200” for “£30”.

171. —(1) There shall be charged, levied and paid on a licence granted pursuant to section 2 of the Intoxicating Liquor (National Concert Hall) Act, 1983 , and on the due renewal of every such licence a duty of excise of £200.

(2) A licence granted by the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to section 2 of the Intoxicating Liquor (National Concert Hall) Act, 1983 , shall expire at midnight on the next following 30 September after the passing of this Act or the commencement of the period to which the licence relates whichever is the later, and may be renewed.

172. — Section 2 of the Intoxicating Liquor (National Concert Hall) Act, 1983 , is amended by the insertion of the following after subsection (1):

“(1A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other enactment, a licence shall not be granted or renewed by the Revenue Commissioners under this section in respect of any period commencing on or after 1 October 2001 unless a tax clearance certificate in relation to the licence or its renewal has been issued in accordance with section 1094 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 .”.

173. —Section 49 of the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910, is amended in the proviso (inserted by section 156 of the Finance Act, 1992 ) to subsection (1) by the substitution of “a spirits retailer's on-licence, a spirits retailer's off-licence, a wine retailer's on-licence, a wine retailer's off-licence or a beer retailer's off-licence” for “a spirits retailer's on-licence, a spirits retailer's off-licence or a wine retailer's on-licence”.

174. — Section 18 of the Finance Act, 1964 , is amended by the substitution in subsection (1), in the definition of “firearm certificate”, of “Firearms Acts, 1925 to 2000” for “Firearms Acts, 1925 and 1964”.

175. —Chapter III of Part II of the Finance Act, 1992 , is amended in section 120 (interpretation of Chapter III)—

(a) by the insertion in subsection (1) of the following definition after the definition of “public place”:

“‘the public’ includes members of clubs, organisations and other distinct groupings of individuals;”,

and

(b) by the substitution in subsection (2) of the following for paragraph (d):

“(d) when played once and successfully by a player, affords that player no more than an opportunity—

(i) to play again once more without paying to play, or

(ii) to obtain a non-monetary prize which, if available for purchase or a similar item were so available, would not normally exceed £5 in value.”.

176. — Section 43 of the Finance Act, 1975 , is amended—

(a) by the insertion in subsection (1) of the following definition after the definition of “premises”:

“‘the public’ includes members of clubs, organisations and other distinct groupings of individuals;”,

and

(b) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of the following:

“affords that player no more than an opportunity—

(i) to play again once more without paying to play, or

(ii) to obtain a non-monetary prize which, if available for purchase or a similar item were so available, would not normally exceed £5 in value,

shall be deemed not to be a gaming machine.”,

for “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.”.

177. —(1) Section 34 of the Finance Act, 1963 , is amended—

(a) in subsection (4)—

(i) by the substitution in paragraph (c)(i) of “£1,500” for “£1,000” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1983 ),

(ii) by the substitution in paragraph (d)(ii) of “£1,500” for “£1,000” (as so inserted),

and

(b) by the substitution in subsection (5) of “£1,500” for “£1,000” (as so inserted).

(2) With effect on and from 1 January 2002, section 34 of the Finance Act, 1963 , is amended—

(a) in subsection (4)—

(i) by the substitution in paragraph (c)(i) of “€1,900” for “£1,500” (inserted by subsection (1)),

(ii) by the substitution in paragraph (d)(ii) of “€1,900” for “£1,500” (as so inserted),

and

(b) by the substitution in subsection (5) of “€1,900” for “£1,500” (as so inserted).

178. —(1) Section 89 of the Finance Act, 1997 , is amended by the substitution in paragraph (a) of “£1,500” for “£1,000”.

(2) With effect on and from 1 January 2002, section 89 of the Finance Act, 1997 , is amended by the substitution in paragraph (a) of “€1,900” for “£1,500” (inserted by subsection (1)).

179. —The Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, is amended—

(a) by the deletion of section 172,

(b) in section 202 by the substitution of “of an officer of the Revenue Commissioners” for “of the Collector or other proper officer of Customs at the nearest Customs House”, and

(c) by the substitution of the following section for section 257:

180. —The Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, Amendment Act, 1890, is repealed.