No. 52/1933:

FINANCE (CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DUTIES) ACT, 1933

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Duty on rose bushes.

2 Duty on grass seed.

3 Additional duty on certain personal clothing and wearing apparel.

4 Imposition of duties in the First Schedule.

5 Alteration of duty on certain empty glass bottles.

6 Amendment of Acts in the Second Schedule.

7 Amendment of Third Schedule to the Finance Act, 1926.

8 Change of user mechanically propelled vehicle.

9 Drawback and reimportation provisions for woven tissues.

10 Amendment of sections 24, 25, and 34 of the Finance Act, 1933.

11 Penalty for breach of condition.

12 Care and management of duties.

13 Short title and construction.

FIRST SCHEDULE

SECOND SCHEDULE

AN ACT TO CHARGE AND IMPOSE CERTAIN DUTIES OF CUSTOMS AND DUTIES OF EXCISE AND TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO CUSTOMS AND EXCISE AND TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISIONS IN CONNECTION WITH FINANCE.

[15th December, 1933.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on all rose bushes imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 28th day of September, 1933, a customs duty at the rate of sixpence per rose bush.

(2) Whenever the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for Agriculture, so thinks proper, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise any particular person, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, to import without payment of the duty imposed by this section stocks for rose propagation chargeable with such duty either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper, without limit as to time or quantity or either of them, or within a specified time or in a specified quantity.

2.—(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid a customs duty at the rate of two shillings per hundredweight on grass seed of all descriptions imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 28th day of September, 1933.

(2) Whenever the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister for Agriculture, so thinks proper, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise any particular person, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, to import without payment of the duty imposed by this section any goods chargeable with such duty either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper, without limit as to time or quantity or either of them, or within a specified time or in a specified quantity.

3.—(1) A duty of customs at the rate of an amount equal to twenty per cent. of the value of the article shall be charged, levied, and paid on every of the following articles which is imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 24th day of November, 1933, and is chargeable with the duty imposed section 7 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 2) Act, 1932 (No. 11 of 1932), that is to say:—

( a ) articles which are of the nature of coats, wraps, costumes, dresses or blouses suitable for wear by women and are neither knitted nor proofed nor made wholly or mainly of leather or of fur, and also component parts and accessories of such articles, and

( b ) articles of personal clothing or wearing apparel (other than gloves) made wholly or mainly of fur, and also component parts and accessories of such articles.

(2) The duty imposed by this section shall not be charged or levied on any article which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, has before importation been substantially worn or otherwise used outside Saorstát Eireann by a person other than the importer or members of his family or household.

(3) The duty imposed by this section on any article shall be chargeable in addition to and not in substitution for any other duty which may be chargeable on such article.

4.—(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on every of the articles mentioned in the second column of the First Schedule to this Act imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 30th day of September, 1933, a customs duty at the rate stated in the third column of the said First Schedule opposite the mention of the article in the said second column.

(2) Where a percentage is stated in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act opposite the mention of any article in the second column of that Schedule, such statement shall be construed as meaning a rate of duty equal to that percentage of the value of such article.

(3) Whenever it is stated in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act that the provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to a duty mentioned in that Schedule, the provisions of the said section 8 shall apply to that duty with the substitution of the expression "Saorstát Eireann" for the expression "Great Britain and Ireland" and as though the articles chargeable with the said duty were included in the Second Schedule to the said Finance Act, 1919, in the list of goods to which two-thirds of the full rate is made applicable as a preferential rate.

(4) Subject to the provisions of the next preceding sub-section of this section, the provisions (if any) set forth in the fourth column of the First Schedule to this Act at any reference number in that Schedule shall have effect in respect of the duty mentioned at that reference number.

5.—(1) The duty on certain empty glass bottles and empty glass jars imposed by section 4 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), and mentioned at reference number 14 in the First Schedule to that Act shall, in respect of all bottles chargeable with that duty which are imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 24th day of November, 1933, and are, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, designed, constructed, and intended for use for bottling beer, be charged, levied, and paid at whichever of the following rates produces in each particular case the greater amount of duty, that is to say:—

( a ) the rate of eight shillings per gross of one hundred and forty-four bottles, or

( b ) the rate stated at the said reference number 14.

(2) The provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall not apply to the duty mentioned in the preceding sub-section of this section when chargeable at the rate of eight shillings per gross of one hundred and forty-four bottles.

6.—The several Acts mentioned in the second column of the Second Schedule to this Act shall be respectively amended or otherwise affected in the manner set out in the third column of the said Second Schedule opposite the mention of each such Act in the said second column and shall have effect as so amended or affected in respect of articles imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 30th day of September, 1933.

7.—The Third Schedule to the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926), shall be and is hereby amended as on and from the 1st day of January, 1934, as follows and section 20 of that Act and the said Third Schedule shall have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

( a ) in paragraph 3 of the said Third Schedule—

(i) the passage beginning with the word "Vehicles" and ending with the figures "1888" shall be and is hereby deleted and the words "The following vehicles, that is to say" shall be and are hereby inserted in the said paragraph in lieu of the words so deleted, and

(ii) the words "Other vehicles" shall be and are hereby deleted and the words "Vehicles used as large public service vehicles within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933)" shall be and are hereby inserted in the said paragraph in lieu of the words so deleted;

( b ) the following proviso shall be and is hereby inserted in paragraph 5 of the said Third Schedule at the end of that paragraph, that is to say:—

"In the case of a vehicle to which this paragraph applies and which is not electrically propelled and which exceeds one ton but does not exceed one and one-quarter tons in weight unladen and in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister for Industry and Commerce that such vehicle was assembled in Saorstát Eireann in a manner and to an extent for the time being approved of by the said Minister, duty shall be charged, levied, and paid in respect of such vehicle at the rate of twenty pounds in lieu of the above-mentioned rate of thirty pounds";

( c ) the following sub-paragraph shall be and is hereby inserted in paragraph 6 of the said Third Schedule in lieu of sub-paragraph (b) now contained in that paragraph, that is to say:—

"( b ) any vehicle which is used as a public service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933), and was registered in Saorstát Eireann on the 21st day of April, 1926, as a hackney carriage within the meaning: of section 4 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1888, and has an engine of the same specification and design as any class of engine for the time being entitled to the benefit of the foregoing paragraph (a)..................... £12 ";

( d ) in the first proviso to paragraph 6 of the said Third Schedule, the words "a hackney carriage as defined in section 4 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1888," shall be and are hereby deleted and the words "' used as a small public service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933)," shall be and are hereby inserted in the said proviso in lieu of the words so deleted;

( e ) the third proviso to paragraph 6 of the said Third Schedule shall have effect in relation to repayment of duty in respect of a period ending after the commencement of Part VIII of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933), as if, in respect of so much of such period as is subsequent to such commencement, the words beginning with the words "a hackney" and ending with the word "taximeter" were deleted and the words "fitted with a taximeter and lawfully used as a street service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act: 1933 (No. 11 of 1933)," were inserted in lieu thereof;

( f ) the following proviso shall be and is hereby inserted in paragraph 6 of the said Third Schedule at the end of that paragraph, that is to say:—

"In the case of any vehicle to which sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph applies and which is not electrically propelled, and which exceeds sixteen horse-power, and in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister for Industry and Commerce that such vehicle was assembled in Saorstát Eireann in a manner and to an extent for the time being approved of by the said Minister, no duty shall be charged or levied in respect of the excess of the horse-power of such vehicle above sixteen horse-power."

8.—(1) Where, on the taking out of a 'licence under section 13 of the Finance Act, 1920, for a mechanically propelled vehicle, the excise duty chargeable on such vehicle under the said section 13 as amended by subsequent enactments has been duly paid and at any time while such licence is in force—

( a ) such vehicle is used in a condition or manner or for a purpose which would, if it was used solely in that condition or manner or for that purpose, render it chargeable with the said duty at a higher rate than the said rate at which such duty was so paid, and

( b ) such vehicle as so used is in all other respects a vehicle chargeable with the said duty at such higher rate,

the said duty shall become and be chargeable on such vehicle at such higher rate.

(2) Whenever any person so uses a mechanically propelled vehicle that the excise duty chargeable thereon under the enactments mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section becomes chargeable under that sub-section on such vehicle at such higher rate as is mentioned in the said sub-section, such person shall, unless such duty has been paid at such higher rate before the commencement of such user, be guilty of an offence under this section and, be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of whichever of the following sums is the greater, that is to say, twenty pounds or three times the difference between the amount of the said duty paid on such vehicle on the taking out of the said licence therefor and the amount of the said duty at such higher rate.

9.—(1) Whenever it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners in respect of any article imported into Saorstát Eireann (whether before or after the passing of this Act) that a duty imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs and Stamp Duties) Act, 1929 (No. 5 of 1929) or a duty imposed by section 9 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 2) Act, 1932 (No. 11 of 1932), was duly paid on such article at the said importation thereof and that such article had not been used in Saorstát Eireann otherwise than for a purpose of manufacture, a drawback equal to the amount of the said duty so paid shall be allowed on such article or on any goods in the manufacture or preparation of which such article is shown to have been used if, after the passing of this Act, such article or such goods (as the case may be) is or are exported as merchandise, or shipped as stores, or deposited in a bonded warehouse for shipment as stores.

(2) Save as is otherwise provided by sub-section (6) of section 9 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 2) Act, 1932 , section 6 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1879, shall not apply to any article chargeable with a duty imposed by the said section 9.

(3) Subject and without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (6) of section 9 of the Finance (Customs Duties) (No. 2) Act, 1932 , whenever an article chargeable with a duty imposed by the said section 9 is, after the passing of this Act, reimported into Saorstát Eireann after exportation (whether before or after such passing) therefrom, such article shall be exempt from such duty on such reimportation if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners either—

( a ) that such article had not been imported prior to its exportation, or

( b ) that such article had been imported prior to its exportation and was not at the time of such importation liable to any duty of customs, or

( c ) that such article had been imported prior to its exportation and that all duties of customs with which it was chargeable on such importation had been duly paid and either no drawback of duty had been allowed on such exportation or all drawback so allowed had been repaid to the Revenue Commissioners.

(4) Articles which have been imported and exported by way of transit only shall not be deemed to have been imported or exported for the purposes of the next preceding sub-section of this section.

10.—For the purposes of sections 24, 25, and 34 of the Finance Act, 1933 (No. 15 of 1933), a resolution which has statutory effect by virtue of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1927 (No. 7 of 1927), and is passed after the passing of this Act shall be deemed to be an Act passed after the passing of the said Finance Act, 1933 , and a duty of customs chargeable by virtue of any such resolution shall be deemed to have been imposed by an Act so passed, and the said sections shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

11.—If any person does any act (whether of commission or omission) which is a contravention of a condition imposed by the Revenue Commissioners under this Act, he shall be guilty of an offence under the Customs Acts and shall, for each such offence, incur a penalty of fifty pounds and any article liable to duty in respect of which such offence is committed shall be forfeited.

12.—The duties imposed by this Act, except duties on mechanically propelled vehicles, are hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

13.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Finance (Customs and Excise Duties) Act, 1933 .

(2) This Act, so far as it relates to duties of customs, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and, so far as it relates to duties of excise, shall be construed together with the British Statutes and Acts of the Oireachtas which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties.

FIRST SCHEDULE

CERTAIN CUSTOMS DUTIES.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Amendments of ACTS.