PART II

Customs and Excise

54. —In this Part “the Order of 1987” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 285) (Excise Duties) Order, 1987 (S.I. No. 19 of 1987).

55. —(1) (a) In this section “the Act of 1977” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 .

(b) In this section and in the Fourth Schedule “cigarettes”, “cigars”, “hard pressed tobacco”, “other pipe tobacco”, “smoking tobacco”, “chewing tobacco” and “tobacco products” have the same meanings as they have in the Act of 1977, as amended by the Imposition of Duties (No. 243) (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 296 of 1979), and by this section.

(2) The Act of 1977 is hereby amended—

(a) in section 1 (1)—

(i) by the deletion of the definition of “cavendish or negrohead”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “sweetened pipe tobacco” for “cavendish or negrohead” in the definitions of “hard pressed tobacco” and “other pipe tobacco”,

and

(b) in the First Schedule, by the substitution of “Sweetened pipe tobacco” for “Cavendish or negrohead”.

(3) 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 the Schedule to the Order of 1987, be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 28th day of January, 1988, at the several rates specified in the Fourth Schedule .

56. —(1) In this section “the Order of 1975” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. No. 307 of 1975).

(2) The duty of excise on mineral hydrocarbon light oil imposed by paragraph 11 (1) of the Order of 1975 shall, in lieu of the rate specified in paragraph 5 (1) of the Order of 1987, be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 28th day of January, 1988, at the rate of £29.47 per hectolitre.

(3) (a) For the purposes of this subsection—

(i) mineral hydrocarbon light oil shall be deemed to be unleaded if it contains not more than 0.013 grammes of lead per litre or, where such oil is delivered for home use before the 1st day of April, 1990, if it contains not more than 0.020 grammes of lead per litre, and

(ii) the lead content of mineral hydrocarbon light oil shall be established in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive No. 85/210/EEC of 20th March, 1985⁽¹⁾ .

(b) Subject to compliance with such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may think fit to impose, a rebate of the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 11 (1) of the Order of 1975 on mineral hydrocarbon light oil shall be allowed at the rate of £0.80 per hectolitre in respect of such oil (not being aviation gasoline within the meaning of section 73 of the Finance Act, 1984 ) which is deemed to be unleaded by virtue of paragraph (a) and on which the said duty is paid on or after the 28th day of January, 1988.

(4) The duty of excise on hydrocarbon oil imposed by paragraph 12 (1) of the Order of 1975 shall, in lieu of the rate specified in paragraph 5 (2) of the Order of 1987, be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 28th day of January, 1988, at the rate of £22.31 per hectolitre.

57. —(1) This section applies to any goods liable to a duty of excise which are mixed with some other substance or substances for purposes connected with a rebate of excise duty on the said goods or the exemption of the said goods from excise duty.

(2) Any person who, without the consent in writing of the Revenue Commissioners, removes or attempts to remove or is knowingly concerned in removing or attempting to remove a substance or substances mentioned in subsection (1) from goods to which this section applies, or knowingly deals in any manner with such goods from which a substance or substances mentioned in subsection (1) has or have, without the consent aforesaid, been removed, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to an excise penalty not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to an excise penalty not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

(4) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , as amended by section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 , shall apply in relation to an offence under subsection (2) as if the references in subsection (3) (a) of the said section 13 to a fine were references to an excise penalty.

(5) Where an offence under subsection (2) is committed by a body corporate and the offence is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of any person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body corporate, that person shall also be deemed to be guilty of the offence and may be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

58. —The Imposition of Duties (No. 287) (Excise Duty on Table Waters) Order, 1987 (S.I. No. 338 of 1987), is hereby confirmed.

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L96, 3.4.1985, p. 25.