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13 1994

FINANCE ACT, 1994

PART II

Customs and Excise

Chapter I

Excise Duty on Cigarettes—Introduction of Tax Stamps

Interpretation ( Chapter I ).

67. —In this Chapter—

the Principal Act” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977;

the Regulations of 1992” means the European Communities (Customs and Excise) Regulations, 1992, (S.I. No. 394 of 1992).

Amendment of section 1 (interpretation) of Principal Act.

68. —Section 1 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion in subsection (1) of the following definition after the definition of “smoking tobacco” (inserted by the Imposition of Duties (No. 243) (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 296 of 1979)):

“‘tax stamp’ means a label issued by the Revenue Commissioners under section 2A of this Act for the purpose of collecting the duty of excise imposed by section 2 of this Act.”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In this Act ‘authorised warehousekeeper’, ‘duty-suspension arrangement’, ‘tax representative’ and ‘tax warehouse’ have the same meanings, respectively, as they have in Chapter II of Part II of the Finance Act, 1992 .”.

Liability for duty to be paid by tax stamps.

69. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 2:

“2A.—(1) The duty of excise imposed by section 2 of this Act shall, in respect of cigarettes, be paid by means of the purchase of tax stamps issued by the Revenue Commissioners:

Provided that the Revenue Commissioners may, in exceptional circumstances, permit payment of the duty to be subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.

(2) Liability for duty in respect of tax stamp purchases shall arise at the time the tax stamps are issued by the Revenue Commissioners to the purchaser.

(3) Subject to section 3 (3) of this Act, the Revenue Commissioners shall only issue tax stamps on payment of the appropriate amount of duty.

(4) Liability for duty in respect of other tobacco products shall arise at the time the goods are manufactured in the State or imported into the State or when they cease to be warehoused without payment of duty under section 4 whichever is the later.”.

Sale of cigarettes.

70. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 2A (inserted by section 69 ):

“2B.—(1) With the exception of—

(a) cigarettes to which the provisions of subsection (2) of section 106 of the Finance Act, 1992 , apply,

(b) cigarettes being held or delivered under a duty-suspension arrangement, and

(c) cigarettes to which the proviso to subsection (1) of section 2A of this Act apply,

cigarettes intended for sale, delivery or consumption in the State shall have affixed by the manufacturer, to each pack in which the cigarettes are intended to be put up for retail sale, a tax stamp in respect of which the duty appropriate to the pack of cigarettes has been paid:

Provided that cigarettes intended for sale or delivery in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 1992 shall not have tax stamps affixed.

(2) (a) Tax stamps affixed in the State to packs of cigarettes shall be affixed in a tax warehouse and in such manner as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe in regulations made under section 8 of this Act.

(b) Where packs of cigarettes are brought into the State with tax stamps affixed they shall be affixed in such manner as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe in regulations made under section 8 of this Act.”.

Amendment of section 3 (repayment, remission and deferment of payment) of Principal Act.

71. —Section 3 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they consider appropriate to impose, repay or remit duty paid by means of tax stamps where it is shown to their satisfaction that the tax stamps have been destroyed or are damaged or otherwise unsuitable for the use for which they were issued.”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions for securing payment of the duty as they may think fit to impose—

(a) in respect of the duty on cigarettes (other than cigarettes referred to in the proviso to subsection (1) of section 2A) and where duty liability arises in a period beginning on and including the fourth last day of a month up to and including the fifth last day of the subsequent month, permit payment of the duty imposed by section 2 of this Act to be deferred to a day not later than the last day of the second month following that subsequent month:

Provided that, where duty liability arises during the period beginning on and including the 28th day of October and ending on and including the 27th day of the subsequent December, the duty arising up to and including the 30th day of November and half the duty arising in the said period thereafter, as determined by the Revenue Commissioners, shall be paid not later than the subsequent 31st day of December.

(b) in respect of the duty on other tobacco products:

(i) other than on the last day in the month of December, where duty liability arises on a day in that month but such day is not a Saturday or a Sunday, permit payment of the duty imposed by section 2 of this Act to be deferred, as to one half, as determined by the Revenue Commissioners, of the duty, to a day not later than the last day of that month and, as to the remainder of the duty, to a day not later than the last day of the next following month of January, and

(ii) in any other case, permit payment of the duty imposed by section 2 of this Act to be deferred to a day not later than the last day of the month immediately following that in which liability arises.”.

Amendment of section 7 (ascertainment of retail prices of tobacco products) of Principal Act.

72. —Section 7 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (3) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) A person shall not invite an offer to treat, offer for sale or sell by retail any packet of cigarettes at a price which is higher than the price on the basis of which that part of the excise duty imposed by section 2 of this Act which is chargeable by reference to the price at which the cigarettes are sold by retail has been charged on the cigarettes in question and any person who so invites, offers or sells shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to an excise penalty of £50 in respect of each such offence.”.

Amendment of section 8 (regulations) of Principal Act.

73. —Section 8 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (2) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (h):

“(i) prescribe the form of tax stamps to be used to collect the excise duty imposed on cigarettes by section 2 of this Act,

(j) govern the printing, transportation, storage, sale, release and supply of tax stamps,

(k) prescribe the manner in which tax stamps are to be affixed,

(l) specify the records to be kept by tobacco manufacturers, importers, authorised warehousekeepers and tax representatives in relation to tax stamps which are either or both obtained and held by each one of them.”.

Offences in relation to tax stamps.

74. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 10:

“10A.—(1) Subject to the provisions of Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 1992 and with the exception of cases referred to in the proviso to subsection (1) of section 2A of this Act, any person who offers for sale or delivery, where such sale or delivery does not take place under a duty-suspension arrangement, in the State cigarettes otherwise than in a pack or packs to which a tax stamp, on which duty at the appropriate amount has been paid, is affixed in the prescribed manner shall be guilty of an offence and the cigarettes in respect of which the offence has been committed and any goods which are packed with or used to conceal the said cigarettes shall be liable to forfeiture and, where the cigarettes are found in, on, or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said cigarettes and shall also be liable to forfeiture.

(2) Any person who counterfeits, alters or otherwise makes fraudulent use of, or who is knowingly concerned in holding, selling or dealing in a counterfeited or altered tax stamp shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be liable on conviction to a penalty of £1,000 in respect of each such offence.

(4) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) of this section, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown that duty had not been paid in respect of any pack or packs which do not have a tax stamp affixed thereto.”.

Amendment of section 11 (offences) of Principal Act.

75. —Section 11 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “£1,000 in respect of each such offence” for “£500”.

Amendment of section 18 (power to refuse delivery of goods) of Finance Act, 1939.

76. Section 18 of the Finance Act, 1939 , is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (1) by the substitution of “one or more” for “either or both”,

(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (1):

“(aa) to refuse to allow, during the said period, the issue of tax stamps to manufacturers or importers of cigarettes or to any other person where the quantity applied for appears to the Revenue Commissioners to exceed the quantity which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances, and”,

and

(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In subsection (1) of this section—

cigarettes’ has the meaning (inserted by Regulation 26 of the European Communities (Customs and Excise) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 394 of 1992)) it has in section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977;

tax stamps’ has the same meaning (inserted by section 68 of the Finance Act, 1994) it has in section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977.”.

Commencement ( Chapter I ).

77. —This Chapter shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order, and different days may be so appointed for different provisions or for different purposes.