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22 1956

FINANCE ACT, 1956

PART II.

Customs and Excise.

Tobacco.

8. —(1) In this section—

the Act of 1932” means the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932);

the Act of 1934” means the Finance Act, 1934 (No. 31 of 1934);

the Act of 1952” means the Finance Act, 1952 (No. 14 of 1952).

(2) The duty of customs on tobacco imposed by section 20 of the Act of 1932 shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates at which the said duty is now chargeable by virtue of section 12 of the Act of 1952.

(3) The duty of excise on tobacco imposed by section 19 of the Act of 1934 shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates at which the said duty is now chargeable by virtue of section 12 of the Act of 1952.

(4) Subsections (3) and (4) of the said section 19 of the Act of 1934, and subsection (5) thereof subject to subsection (5) of this section, shall apply to tobacco which is chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by subsection (1) of the said section 19 at a rate specified in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act, and for the purpose of such application references in the said subsections (3), (4) and (5) of the said section 19 to Part I of the Sixth Schedule to the said Act of 1934 shall be construed and have effect as references to Part II of the First Schedule to this Act.

(5) The rebate on unmanufactured tobacco mentioned in subsection (3) of section 20 of the Act of 1932, as amended by section 18 of the Act of 1934, and in subsection (5) of section 19 of the Act of 1934, shall, on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, be at the rate of five pence per pound.

(6) The rebate on hard pressed tobacco mentioned in subsection (2) of section 17 of the Finance Act, 1940 (No. 14 of 1940), shall, in respect of any such tobacco sold and sent out for use within the State by any licensed manufacturer on or after the 9th day of May, 1956, be at the rate of twelve shillings and four pence per pound.

(7) As respects unmanufactured tobacco which, apart from this subsection, would be entitled by virtue of section 5 of the Finance Act, 1950 (No. 18 of 1950), to the preferential rates of customs duties specified in the Second Schedule to the Finance Act, 1949 (No. 13 of 1949), the duty of customs chargeable thereon on delivery from bonded warehouse shall, as on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, be charged, levied and paid at the rates for unmanufactured tobacco specified in Part III of the First Schedule to this Act.

Tobacco (excise duty on certain stocks)

9. —(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, there shall be charged, levied and paid on all stocks of tobacco of every description which at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 8th day of May, 1956, are in the ownership or possession of a licensed manufacturer of tobacco and in any place in the State other than a bonded warehouse, a duty of excise, payable by the manufacturer, at the following rate, that is to say:

(a) so far as the stocks consist of unmanufactured tobacco, seven shillings and eleven pence for every pound weight of the stocks, and

(b) so far as the stocks consist of tobacco (including snuff) other than unmanufactured tobacco, seven shillings and eleven pence for every pound weight of unmanufactured tobacco from which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, the stocks were derived.

(2) The duty imposed by subsection (1) of this section shall not be chargeable on any manufactured tobacco (including cigarettes, cigars and snuff, other than offal snuff) as to which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that it was at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 8th day of May, 1956, fully prepared for sale by retail and that either—

(i) it was not the product of any operation carried out by any manufacturer in whose ownership or possession it was at that time; or

(ii) it was at that time held as retail stock in premises used for selling tobacco by retail; or

(iii) it was at that time in transit from seller to buyer under a contract of sale:

Provided that no tobacco shall be deemed for the purposes of this subsection to have been fully prepared for sale by retail if, according to the ordinary course of business of the person in whose ownership or possession it was or to whom it was in transit, it had still to be subjected to some further process (other than packing) before being sold by him.

(3) Every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall not later than the 15th day of May, 1956, make a return to the Revenue Commissioners in a form approved by them giving such information as they may thereby require and, in particular, showing the quantities by weight of tobacco of every description in his ownership or possession at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 8th day of May, 1956, in any place in the State other than a bonded warehouse.

(4) Every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall—

(a) produce, if so required, to any officer of Customs and Excise the trade books and all accounts and documents belonging to or in the possession of such manufacturer which are necessary for verifying the return made in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section, and

(b) render all reasonable assistance to such officer in the taking of an account of the tobacco which was in the ownership or possession of such manufacturer at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 8th day of May, 1956.

(5) Every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall, immediately upon making the return required by subsection (3) of this section or on the 15th day of May, 1956, whichever is the earlier, pay to the Revenue Commissioners the full amount of the duty mentioned in this section on any tobacco which was in his ownership or possession at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 8th day of May, 1956, and was chargeable with the said duty, and the Revenue Commissioners may, if they think fit, defer the payment of the duty to a date not later than the 1st day of January, 1957, upon the manufacturer giving security by bond or otherwise to their satisfaction that such duty will be paid.

(6) Every manufacturer required by subsection (3) of this section to make such return as is mentioned in that subsection who either fails to make such return or makes a return which is incomplete, false or misleading in any material respect or fails or refuses to do anything which he is required by subsection (4) of this section to do shall be guilty of an offence under the statutes relating to duties of excise and shall for every such offence incur an excise penalty of fifty pounds, and all tobacco in relation to which such offence was committed shall be forfeited.

(7) Where drawback is payable in respect of tobacco on which the excise duty imposed by subsection (1) of this section has been paid, such drawback shall, to the extent of the duty paid in pursuance of the said subsection (1) as determined by the Revenue Commissioners, be a drawback of excise.

Mineral hydrocarbon light oil.

10. —(1) In this section “the Act of 1952” means the Finance Act, 1952 (No. 14 of 1952).

(2) 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 9th day of May, 1956, at the rate of two shillings and three pence farthing the gallon in lieu of the rate specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 6 of the Act of 1952.

(3) 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 9th day of May, 1956, 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 two shillings and one penny farthing the gallon in lieu of the rate specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 6 of the Act of 1952.

Hydrocarbon oil.

11. —(1) In this section “the Act of 1935” means the Finance Act, 1935 (No. 28 of 1935).

(2) As on and from the 11th day of May, 1956, the rate of any rebate allowed under subsection (2) of section 21 of the Act of 1935, shall be—

(a) as respects the oil commonly known as tractor vaporising oil, one shilling and eight pence the gallon; and

(b) as respects any other hydrocarbon oil, one shilling and seven pence the gallon.

(3) As on and from the 11th day of May, 1956, the rate of any rebate allowed under subsection (4) of section 21 of the Act of 1935, shall be—

(a) as respects the oil commonly known as tractor vaporising oil, one shilling and six pence the gallon; and

(b) as respects any other hydrocarbon oil, one shilling and five pence the gallon.

Matches.

12. —(1) In lieu of the duty of customs imposed by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1945 (No. 20 of 1945), there shall be charged, levied and paid as on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, on all imported matches a duty of customs at the several rates specified in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act.

(2) In lieu of the duty of excise imposed by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1945 (No. 20 of 1945), as amended by section 15 of the Finance Act, 1954 (No. 22 of 1954), there shall be charged, levied and paid as on and from the 9th day of May, 1956, on all matches made in the State a duty of excise at the several rates specified in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act.

Bets.

13. —The duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926), shall (subject and without prejudice to the provisions of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931 (No. 31 of 1931)) be charged, levied and paid on bets entered into on or after the 1st day of July, 1956, at the rate of ten per cent. of the amount of the bet in lieu of the rate of seven and one-half per cent. mentioned in section 18 of the Finance Act, 1941 (No. 14 of 1941).

Table waters.

14. —(1) The duties of customs on table waters imposed by section 7 of the Finance Act, 1916, shall on and after the 9th day of May, 1956, be charged, levied and paid at the rate of one shilling and four pence per gallon in lieu of the rates provided for by the said section 7, section 11 of the said Act and section 17 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924).

(2) The duties of excise on table waters imposed by section 4 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, shall on and after the 9th day of May, 1956, be charged, levied and paid at the rate of one shilling per gallon in lieu of the rates provided for by the said section 4 and section 11 of the Finance Act, 1916.

Entertainments duty—ball or dance.

15. —(1) In this section “entertainments duty” means the excise duty referred to by that name in and chargeable under section 1 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as amended by subsequent enactments, and “the census of population” and “town” have the same meanings respectively as they have in section 16 of the Finance Act, 1954 (No. 22 of 1954).

(2) As on and from the 1st day of August, 1956, section 1 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, shall be construed and have effect as if the word “entertainment” as defined in that section included any ball or dance, and entertainments duty shall, on and from the said date, be charged, levied and paid on all payments for admission to any ball or dance whether the admission is for the purpose of dancing or taking part in such ball or dance or as a spectator thereof and shall be charged, levied and paid as aforesaid at the following rates:—

(i) as respects any ball or dance held in a place not situated in or within three miles of—

(a) a county or other borough, or

(b) an urban district, or

(c) a town,

having, in any such case, according to the census of population, a population exceeding two thousand:

Where the payment for admission, excluding duty—

Rate of Duty

s.

d.

exceeds

4d.

and

does

not

exceed

9d.

1

9d.

1s.

1½d.

1s.

1½d.

1s.

10d.

2

1s.

10d.

2s.

3d.

3

2s.

3d.

3s.

4½d.

3s.

4½d.

4s.

6d.

6

4s.

6d.

6d. for the first 4s. 6d. and 2d. for every additional 1s. or part of 1s.

(ii) in any other case:

Where the payment for admission, excluding duty—

Rate of Duty.

s.

d.

exceeds

4d.

and

does

not

exceed

6½d.

6½d.

8d.

2

8d.

1s.

0d.

3

1s.

0d.

1s.

8d.

4

1s.

8d.

2s.

0d.

6

2s.

0d.

3s.

0d.

9

3s.

0d.

4s.

0d.

1

0

4s.

0d.

1s. for the first 4s. and 3d. for every additional 1s. or part of 1s.

(3) The provisions of section 16 of the Finance Act, 1954 (No. 22 of 1954) shall apply and have effect in respect of entertainments duty payable in pursuance of this section, subject to the proviso that no repayment shall be made under subsection (3) of the said section 16 in respect of duty paid on payments for admission to any ball or dance.

(4) In the application of the provisions of subsections (4) and (6) of the said section 16 to the entertainments duty payable in pursuance of this section, the references in those subsections to subsection (3) of that section shall be construed as references to paragraph (i) of subsection (2) of this section.

(5) Subsection (1) of section 14 of the Finance Act, 1952 (No. 14 of 1952) is hereby repealed as on and from the 1st day of August, 1956.

Entertainments duty—exemption for Irish language film shows.

16. —(1) In this section “entertainments duty” means the excise duty referred to by that name in and chargeable under section 1 of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, as amended by subsequent enactments.

(2) Entertainments duty shall not be charged or levied on payments for admission to any entertainment which is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to consist wholly of moving pictures produced by means of a cinematograph film which either—

(a) has a continuous sound track from which is produced speech in the Irish language, or

(b) has a continuous accompaniment consisting of synchronised speech in the Irish language which is mechanically produced and corresponds to the scenes depicted in the film.

Gaming licences.

17. —There shall be charged, levied and paid for and upon every gaming licence issued under section 19 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1956 (No. 2 of 1956), an excise duty at the following rates, that is to say:—

where the period for which the licence is to be issued, as specified in the certificate under the said Act authorising the issue of the licence—

(a) does not exceed three months, ten pounds;

(b) exceeds three months but does not exceed six months, twenty pounds;

(c) exceeds six months but does not exceed nine months, thirty pounds;

(d) exceeds nine months, forty pounds.

Amendment of section 19 (3) of Finance Act, 1933.

18. —Subsection (3) of section 19 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), is hereby amended, as respects entertainments held on or after the 1st day of November, 1956, by the deletion of “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and the deletion of paragraph (d).

Termination of customs duty on fillers and flats for egg-boxes.

19. —The duty of customs on fillers and flats for egg-boxes imported separately imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 4) Act, 1932 (No. 34 of 1932), and mentioned at reference number 9 in the First Schedule thereto shall not be charged or levied on any articles imported on or after the 1st day of September, 1956.

Confirmation of Orders.

20. —The Emergency Imposition of Duties (No. 370) (Special Import Levy) Order, 1956 (S.I. No. 45 of 1956), and the Emergency Imposition of Duties (No. 379) (Special Import Levy) (Amendment) Order, 1956 (S.I. No. 132 of 1956), are hereby confirmed.