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15 1946

FINANCE ACT, 1946

PART II.

Customs and Excise.

Alteration of rates of duties on spirits.

7. —(1) The Finance Act, 1920, as amended by section 7 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 (No. 33 of 1939), shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1946, be amended by the substitution in Part I of the First Schedule to the said Finance Act, 1920, of the matter set out in the First Schedule to this Act for the matter inserted therein by the said section 7, and subsection (1) of section 3 of the said Finance Act, 1920, shall have effect accordingly.

(2) The duty of excise imposed by subsection (2) of section 3 of the Finance Act, 1920, shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1946, be charged, levied and paid at the rate of four pounds and fifteen shillings the gallon (computed at proof) in lieu of the rate chargeable by virtue of subsection (2) of section 7 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 .

(3) 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 (No. 35 of 1926).

Alteration of rates of customs duties on wine.

8. —(1) In lieu of the customs duties in respect of wine imposed by section 6 of the Finance Act, 1930 (No. 20 of 1930), there shall (subject to the provisions of this section) be charged, levied and paid as on and from the 9th day of May, 1946, the following customs duties on all wine imported into the State, that is to say:—

Wine—

£

s.

d.

Not exceeding 25 degrees of proof spirit, the gallon

0

6

0

Exceeding 25 but not exceeding 30 degrees of proof spirit, the gallon

0

10

0

Exceeding 30 but not exceeding 42 degrees of proof spirit, the gallon

1

4

0

And for every degree or fraction of a degree beyond the highest above charged, an additional duty, the gallon

0

2

0

Sparkling wine in bottle, an additional duty, the gallon

1

5

0

Still wine not exceeding 25 degrees of proof spirit in bottle, an additional duty, the gallon

0

4

0

Still wine exceeding 25 degrees of proof spirit in bottle, an additional duty, the gallon

0

8

0

(2) The provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties imposed by this section with the substitution of the expression “the area of application of the Acts of the Oireachtas” for the expression “Great Britain and Ireland”.

(3) For the purposes of this section wine rendered sparkling or effervescent and bottled in a bonded warehouse shall be deemed to be sparkling wine imported in bottle, and upon delivery for home consumption shall be charged with the duty imposed on sparkling wine by this section.

(4) Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), shall not apply or have effect in relation to the customs duties imposed by this section.

(5) In this section the word “wine” includes the lees of wine.

Abolition of duties on sugar and molasses and reimposition of existing duties on glucose and saccharin.

9. —(1) The customs duties chargeable in respect of sugar, molasses, glucose and saccharin under section 2 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 (No. 33 of 1939), shall cease to be chargeable or leviable as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946.

(2) The excise duties chargeable in respect of sugar, molasses, glucose and saccharin under section 2 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 , shall cease to be chargeable or leviable as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946.

(3) There shall, as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946, be charged, levied and paid on all glucose and saccharin imported into the State the customs duties specified in the second column of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act and there shall be paid in respect of all glucose and saccharin so imported, the drawbacks set out in Part II of the said Schedule.

(4) There shall, as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946, be charged, levied and paid on all glucose and saccharin made within the State the excise duties specified in the third column of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act and there shall be paid, in respect of all glucose and saccharin so made, the drawbacks set out in Part II of the said Schedule.

(5) 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.

(6) 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 and drawbacks imposed or allowed by this section in like manner as those provisions apply in relation to the duties and drawbacks mentioned in the said First Schedule, but with and subject to the following modifications, that is to say:—

(a) clause 2 shall be deleted;

(b) in clause 5, the 1st day of June, 1946, shall be substituted for the 6th day of May, 1925;

(c) 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.

(7) Section 24 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), shall not apply or have effect in relation to the customs duties imposed by this section.

(8) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that Cómhlucht Siúicre Eireann, Teoranta, had in their ownership in the State at midnight on the 31st day of May, 1946, sugar on which the excise duty imposed by section 2 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 , was paid by the said Company, the said Company shall be entitled to receive a refund of the amount of such duty.

Reduction of duties on mineral hydrocarbon light oil.

10. —(1) The duty of customs imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 4) Act, 1931 (No. 43 of 1931), as amended by subsequent enactments, shall, in respect of mineral hydrocarbon light oil chargeable with that duty, be charged, levied and paid as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946, at the rate of nine pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now chargeable by virtue of subsection (1) of section 14 of the Finance Act, 1941 (No. 14 of 1941).

(2) The duty of excise imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1935 (No. 7 of 1935), as amended by subsequent enactments, shall, in respect of mineral hydrocarbon light oil chargeable with that duty which is sent out, on or for sale or otherwise, from the premises of the manufacturer thereof on or after the 1st day of June, 1946, or is used by such manufacturer on or after that date for any purpose other than the manufacture or production of mineral hydrocarbon oil, be charged, levied and paid at the rate of seven pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now chargeable by virtue of subsection (2) of section 14 of the Finance Act, 1941 .

Reduction of duties on hydrocarbon oil.

11. —(1) The duty of customs imposed by section 21 of the Finance Act, 1935 (No. 28 of 1935), shall, in respect of hydrocarbon oil chargeable with that duty, be charged, levied, and paid, as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946, at the rate of nine pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now chargeable by virtue of subsection (1) of section 13 of the Finance Act, 1941 (No. 14 of 1941).

(2) The rebate allowable under subsection (2) of the said section 21 of the Finance Act, 1935 , shall, in respect of hydrocarbon oil on which such rebate is allowable, be allowed, as on and from the 1st day of June, 1946, at the rate of nine pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now allowable by virtue of subsection (2) of section 13 of the Finance Act, 1941 .

(3) The duty of excise imposed by the said section 21 of the Finance Act, 1935 , shall, in respect of hydrocarbon oil chargeable with that duty, which is sent out, on or for sale or otherwise, from the premises of the manufacturer thereof on or after the 1st day of June, 1946, or is used by such manufacturer on or after that date for any purpose other than the manufacture or production of hydrocarbon oil, be charged, levied, and paid at the rate of seven pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now chargeable by virtue of subsection (3) of section 13 of the Finance Act, 1941 .

(4) The rebate allowable under subsection (4) of the said section 21 of the Finance Act, 1935 , shall, in respect of hydrocarbon oil on which such rebate is allowable and on which the excise duty mentioned in the next preceding subsection of this section was paid at the rate of seven pence the gallon, be allowed at the rate of seven pence the gallon in lieu of the rate now allowable by virtue of subsection (4) of the said section 13 of the Finance Act, 1941 .

Reduction of cinematograph film duty on copies of certain films.

12. —(1) Where—

(a) it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that a film chargeable with cinematograph film duty is identical with another film chargeable with the said duty at the rate of three pence per linear foot of the width of 1⅜ inches or a preferential rate of two thirds of the said rate of three pence per linear foot of the width of 1⅜ inches, and

(b) the first-mentioned film is delivered for home use at the same time as such other film is so delivered or within three months after the payment of duty on such other film,

the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) duty shall be charged, levied and paid on the first-mentioned film at the rate of one penny and one halfpenny per linear foot of the width of 1⅜ inches and not at the rate of three pence per linear foot of the width of 1⅜ inches,

(ii) for the purpose of the application (where appropriate) in relation to the first-mentioned film of subsection (2) of section 17 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), the rate of one penny and one halfpenny per linear foot of the width of 1⅜ inches shall be regarded as the full rate, and

(iii) no drawback in respect of such other film shall be allowed under subsection (4) of section 17 of the Finance Act, 1932 , but the Revenue Commissioners may waive or modify this provision in any particular case, subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose.

(2) The reduction in the rates of duty provided for by subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in relation to more than one of a number of films identical with one another.

(3) In this section—

the expression “cinematograph film duty” means the duty imposed by section 17 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), as amended by section 8 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 4) Act, 1932 (No. 34 of 1932), and section 12 of the Finance Act, 1939 (No. 18 of 1939),

the word “delivered” means, in relation to a film, delivered from a bonded warehouse or delivered on the landing of such film from the importing ship or other conveyance.

Abolition of entertainments duty on admission to balls and dances.

13. —(1) On and after the 1st day of August, 1946, the excise duty referred to as entertainments duty in and chargeable under section 1 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as amended by subsequent enactments shall not be charged or levied on payments for admission to any ball or dance.

(2) Subsection (2) of section 25 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), and subsection (6) of section 10 of the Finance Act, 1943 (No. 16 of 1943), are hereby repealed as on and from the 1st day of August, 1946.

Exemption from customs duties of goods brought from abroad to customs-free airports.

14. —(1) In this section the expression “Customs-free airport” means an airport established in the State as a Customs-free airport by or under statute.

(2) No duty of customs shall be charged, levied or paid on any goods brought from outside the State into a Customsfree airport, but this shall not operate to prevent the charge, levy and payment of a duty of customs on goods brought from that airport to any other part of the State.

Exemption or gifts of food from minimum charge of customs duty.

15. Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924), as amended by section 8 of the Finance Act, 1937 (No. 18 of 1937), and section 9 of the Finance (Agreement with the United Kingdom) Act, 1938 (No. 12 of 1938), shall not apply to articles which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, are food, where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the articles are being imported as a gift to a person in the State.

Exemption of certain packages from customs duty on packages.

16. —The duty imposed by section 22 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), as amended by subsequent enactments, shall not be charged or levied on—

(a) any package which is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to contain only goods which are imported as a gift to a person in the State, or

(b) any package which is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to contain only goods for the personal use of the importer and to be brought in by such importer or his servant or a member of his family.

Exemption from customs duty of goods supplied as gifts or on loan to the Irish Red Cross Society by foreign Red Cross organisations.

17. —(1) Where any article is shown, to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, to have been imported by the Irish Red Cross Society as a gift or a loan from a Red Cross organisation in any other country and solely for the purposes of the Irish Red Cross Society, the Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, allow such article to be imported without payment of the duty of customs (if any) chargeable thereon or repay any such duty paid thereon on importation.

(2) Nothing in this section shall operate to authorise the importation of any article the importation of which is for the time being prohibited by law or to relieve from any restriction or from compliance with any condition (other than the payment of a duty of customs) which is for the time being attached by law to the importation of any article.

Exemptions from duty for certain air services.

18. —Subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, the Revenue Commissioners may, whenever the Minister for Finance so thinks proper,—

(a) permit the importation or delivery without payment of any duty of customs or of excise of any article required for or in connection with any of the following things, that is to say—

(i) the establishment or maintenance of an international air service using or involving the use of an airport in the State,

(ii) the establishment or maintenance of radio or meteorological services or other aids to air navigation ancillary to any such international air service,

(iii) experimental purposes in connection with the establishment or maintenance of any such international air service, or

(b) repay any duty of customs or of excise paid on any such article on importation or delivery.

Exemption from payment of customs duty of articles required for rescue, salvage and repair of damaged aircraft registered in another State.

19. —Whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that an article is required for or in connection with the rescue, salvage or repair of damaged civil aircraft registered in another State, they may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, permit the temporary importation of that article without payment of any duty of customs.

Amendment of sections 93, 102 and 104 of the Spirits Act, 1880, and of Part B of the First Schedule to the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910.

20. —(1) The second prohibition contained in subsection (1) of section 93 of the Spirits Act, 1880, is hereby amended, in its application to the sending out of the compounds or spirits therein mentioned to a person who is the holder of a licence authorising him to sell such compounds or spirits by retail, by the substitution of the words “a half-gallon” for the words “two gallons”.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 102 of the Spirits Act, 1880, as amended by section 27 of the Finance Act, 1929 (No. 32 of 1929), is hereby amended, in its application to the sale, sending out, or delivery of spirits to a person who is the holder of a licence authorising him to sell such spirits by retail, by the substitution of the words “a half -gallon” for the words “two gallons”.

(3) Section 104 of the Spirits Act, 1880, is hereby amended, in its application to the sale of spirits to a person who is the holder of a licence authorising him to sell such spirits by retail, by the substitution of the words “a half-gallon” for the words “two gallons or less than one dozen reputed quart bottles”.

(4) Provision 1 of the Provisions applicable to Wholesale Dealers' Licences contained in Part B of the First Schedule to the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910, is hereby amended as follows:—

(i) in the application of the said Provision to the sale of spirits or wine to a person who is the holder of a licence authorising him to sell such spirits or wine by retail, the words “a half-gallon” shall be substituted in paragraph (a) for the words “two gallons, or not less than one dozen reputed quart bottles”;

(ii) in the application of the said Provision to the sale of beer to a person who is the holder of a licence authorising him to sell such beer by retail, the words “two-and-a-quarter gallons” shall be substituted in paragraph (b) for the words “four-and-a-half gallons, or not less than two dozen reputed quart bottles”.

Amendment of section 2 of the Refreshment Houses (Ireland) Act, 1860.

21. —(1) In section 2 of the Refreshment Houses (Ireland) Act, 1860, the reference to the valuation of any such house or premises on which the last preceding rate for the relief of the poor had been made shall be construed as a reference to the valuation of any such house or premises under the Valuation Acts.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to have come into force on and to have had effect as on and from the 1st day of April, 1931.

Amendment of section 26 of the Finance Act, 1932.

22. —(1) Section 26 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), is hereby amended by the substitution of the words “the valuation under the Valuation Acts” for the words “the poor law valuation” where the latter words occur.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to have come into force on and to have had effect as on and from the 6th day of July, 1932.

Fraudulent removal, etc., of goods with intent to evade excise duties.

23. —Where—

(a) any goods in respect whereof any duty of excise is for the time being payable, or

(b) any articles manufactured wholly or partly from such goods, or

(c) any materials, utensils or vessels proper or intended to be made use of for or in the making of such goods or articles

are removed or are deposited or concealed in any place, with intent to defraud the Minister for Finance of such duty or any part thereof, then—

(i) all such goods and articles and all such materials, utensils and vessels respectively shall be forfeited,

(ii) every person who removes, deposits, or conceals or is concerned in removing, depositing, or concealing, any such goods or articles, with intent to defraud the Minister for Finance of such duty or any part thereof, shall forfeit either treble the value of all such goods or articles or the sum of one hundred pounds, at the election of the Revenue Commissioners.