S.I. No. 134/1949:

TOBACCO ORDER, 1949.

TOBACCO ORDER, 1949.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946 (No. 22 of 1946), and of every and any other power them in this behalf enabling, hereby order as follows :--

1. This Order may be cited as the Tobacco Order, 1949.

2. This Order shall apply in respect of the week commencing at midnight on the 28th day of May, 1949, and in respect of every subsequent week.

3. In this Order--

the expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Finance ;

the expression " clear from bond " means clear from a bonded warehouse for home consumption on payment of duty ;

the expression " appropriate quantity " means, in relation to any particular person, the quantity of unmanufactured tobacco which he is entitled to clear from bond in any week by virtue of a direction of the Minister under Article 4 of this Order.

4. The Minister, having regard to the stocks of unmanufactured tobacco in the State or in the possession or procurement of any person in the State, and all other relevant considerations, may, by direction, prescribe either generally the rate at which unmanufactured tobacco may be cleared from bond, or in respect of any particular person the quantity of unmanufactured tobacco which such person may clear from bond in any week.

5. The Minister may exempt from any direction under Article 4 of this Order unmanufactured tobacco grown in any particular country and, as respects any week to which the exemption relates, unmanufactured tobacco grown in that country shall be disregarded in the application of Articles 6 and 7 of this Order.

6. Save as otherwise provided by this Order, no person shall, in any week in respect of which this Order applies, clear from bond more unmanufactured tobacco than his appropriate quantity.

7. (1) Where, in any week in respect of which this Order applies, a person does not clear from bond any unmanufactured tobacco, that person shall be deemed for the purpose of this Article to have an arrear of unmanufactured tobacco in respect of that week equal to his appropriate quantity.

(2) Where, in any week in respect of which this Order applies, a person clears from bond a quantity of unmanufactured tobacco less than his appropriate quantity, that person shall be deemed for the purpose of this Article to have an arrear of unmanufactured tobacco in respect of that week equal to the difference between the quantity of unmanufactured tobacco so cleared by him in the said week and his appropriate quantity.

(3) A person, who, in any particular week, has in respect of any previous week an arrear of unmanufactured tobacco no part of which has already been cleared from bond, may clear from bond in that particular week (in excess of his appropriate quantity) a quantity of unmanufactured tobacco not exceeding the amount of the said arrear.

(4) A person, who, in any particular week, has in respect of any previous week an arrear of unmanufactured tobacco part only of which has already been cleared from bond, may clear from bond in that particular week (in excess of his appropriate quantity) a quantity of unmanufactured tobacco not exceeding so much of the said arrear as has not already been cleared from bond.

(5) A person may have at any one time two or more arrears of unmanufactured tobacco in respect of different weeks and the foregoing provisions of this Article shall have effect in respect of each of such arrears separately.

8. No action or other proceeding shall lie against any person on account of his failure to perform a contract (whether for sale or otherwise) where such failure is due to the operation of this Order.

9. The Emergency Powers (Tobacco) Order, 1945 (S. R. & O. No. 302 of 1945), and the Emergency Powers (Tobacco) Order, 1946 (S. R. & O. No. 245 of 1946), are hereby revoked as from midnight on the 28th day of May, 1949.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 24th day of May, 1949.

JOHN A. COSTELLO,

Taoiseach.