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32 1929

FINANCE ACT, 1929

PART III.

Customs and Excise.

Continuance of new import duties.

21. —(1) The new import duties which were first imposed by section 12 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and were (with the exception of the duty on records and other means of reproducing music, the duty on blank film on which no picture has been impressed and the duty on motor cars (including motor bicycles and motor tricycles) and accessories and component parts thereof other than tyres) continued up to the 1st day of May 1929 by section 18 of the Finance Act, 1928 (No. 11 of 1928), shall, with the exceptions aforesaid, continue to be charged, levied and paid on and from the said 1st day of May, 1929, up to the 1st day of May, 1930.

(2) Whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that any cinematograph film imported into Saorstát Eireann is of an educational character they shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they think fit to impose, exempt such film from the payment of the duty on cinematograph films included in the duties continued by this section.

(3) The provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties continued by this section with the substitution of the expression “Saorstát Eireann” for the expression “Great Britain and Ireland.”

Continuance of additional duties on dried fruits.

22. —(1) The additional duties on dried fruits which were first imposed by section 8 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and were continued up to the 1st day of August, 1929, by section 19 of the Finance Act, 1928 (No. 11 of 1928), shall continue to be charged, levied and paid on and from the said 1st day of August, 1929, up to the 1st day of August, 1930.

(2) The provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties continued by this section with the substitution of the expression “Saorstát Eireann” for the expression “Great Britain and Ireland.”

Exemptions from duty on woven tissues of wool or worsted.

23. —(1) Sub-section (1) of section 1 of the Finance (Customs and Stamp Duties) Act, 1929 (No. 5 of 1929), shall, in respect of woven tissues imported into Saorstát Eireann on or within two years after the 23rd day of May, 1929, be construed and have effect as if the words “two shillings and sixpence” were inserted therein in lieu of the words “one shilling and sixpence” now contained therein.

(2) Whenever it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that any woven tissue imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 23rd day of May, 1929, and chargeable with the duty imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs and Stamp Duties) Act, 1929 , was manufactured in and exported from Saorstát Eireann and has since such exportation undergone the process of shrinking and no other process of manufacture, section 6 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1879, shall apply to such woven tissue notwithstanding that it has undergone outside Saorstát Eireann such process of shrinking.

(3) Whenever the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that any woven tissue which is imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 23rd day of May, 1929, and but for this sub-section would be chargeable with the duty imposed by section 1 of the Finance (Customs and Stamp Duties) Act, 1929 , is intended solely for use in the upholstering of furniture or vehicles, the Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, permit such woven tissue to be imported without payment of the said duty or repay any such duty paid on importation.

Amendment of Section 17 of the Finance Act, 1928 .

24. Section 17 of the Finance Act, 1928 (No. 11. of 1928), shall be construed and have effect as if the word “glass” were inserted therein immediately before the word “bottle” and also immediately before the word “jar” where those words respectively occur in the said section.

Increase of duties on certain mechanically propelled vehicles.

25. —(1) The excise duties chargeable under section 13 of the Finance Act, 1920, on the mechanically propelled vehicles mentioned in the Fifth Schedule to this Act shall, as on and from the 1st day of July, 1929, be charged, levied, and paid at the rates specified in the said Fifth Schedule in lieu of the rates specified in paragraph 3 of the Third Schedule to the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926).

(2) On and from the 1st day of July, 1929, sub-sections (3) and (5) of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1926 , shall have effect as if the rates of duty specified in the Fifth Schedule to this Act were rates specified in the Third Schedule to that Act.

(3) Every licence taken out under section 13 of the Finance Act, 1920, in respect of a mechanically propelled vehicle of a class mentioned in the Fifth Schedule to this Act which is in force on the 30th day of June, 1929, and, but for this sub-section, would not expire until after that day, shall expire at midnight on the said 30th day of June, 1929, and so much of the duty paid under the said section 13 in respect of such vehicle on the taking out of such licence as is proportionate to the period for which such licence would, but for this sub-section, have continued in force after the said 30th day of June, 1929, shall be allowed as a credit against duty payable and actually paid in respect of such vehicle under the said section 13 at the rate specified in the Fifth Schedule to this Act for the period or any part or parts of the period beginning on the 1st day of July, 1929, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1929, but nothing in this sub-section shall entitle any person to a refund of such first-mentioned duty or any part thereof.

(4) The purposes for which regulations may be made under section 12 of the Roads Act, 1920, shall extend to and include the following purposes, that is to say:—

(a) prescribing the method of calculating for the purposes of this section and the Fifth Schedule to this Act the seating capacity of all or any of the classes of mechanically propelled vehicles mentioned in the said Fifth Schedule, and

(b) making provision for all or any matters arising by reason of the fact that the alterations effected by this section in the rates of duty take effect during the currency of a licensing year.

Duty on gamedealer's licences.

26. —(1) There shall be charged, levied, and paid on the occasions hereinafter mentioned on and by every person who, under any Act passed or to be passed during the financial year beginning on the 1st day of April, 1929, takes out or renews a licence for dealing in game, an excise duty of three pounds in respect of every licence so taken out or renewed.

(2) The duty imposed by this section in respect of any such licence as aforesaid shall be charged, levied, and paid at the time of taking out such licence and also on every renewal of such licence and shall be paid and collected by means of stamps denoting the amount of such duty impressed on such licences and renewals, and the Stamp Duties Management Act, 1891, shall apply to such duty and stamps.

(3) Section 58 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, and the Third Schedule to that Act shall be construed and have effect as if the duty imposed by this section were added to and included in the duties mentioned in the said Third Schedule to the said Act.

(4) It shall not be lawful to issue a licence for dealing in game which is liable to the duty imposed by this section nor any renewal of any such licence unless or until such licence or renewal has been duly stamped under this section in respect of such duty and every person who issues any such licence or renewal in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five pounds.

Amendment of Section 102 of the Spirits Act, 1880.

27. —Section 102 of the Spirits Act, 1880, shall be construed and have effect as if the words “of the same denomination” now contained in sub-section (1) thereof were omitted therefrom.

Bottling of foreign wines for home consumption.

28. —Notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment in force at the commencement of this Act, foreign wine bottled in accordance with the regulations of the Revenue Commissioners in any customs or excise warehouse in imperial or reputed quart or pint bottles and packed in accordance with such regulations in such warehouse in cases containing one or more dozen of such quart bottles or two or more dozen of such pint bottles, may be entered and cleared for home consumption.

Inspection of machines for sale of certain goods.

29. —(1) Any officer of customs and excise may at any reasonable hour enter any premises on which goods, for the sale of which an excise licence is required, are sold by means of an automatic machine or other mechanical contrivance or on which he believes or suspects that any such goods are so sold and may there search for such machine or contrivance and may inspect and operate any such machine or contrivance found by him on such premises.

(2) It shall be the duty of the occupier of any premises on which there is any such automatic machine or mechanical contrivance as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section to give to any officer of customs and excise such information in respect of such machine or contrivance as is reasonably demanded of him by such officer and in particular to give to such officer on demand the name and address of the person to whom such machine or contrivance belongs or by whom the same was supplied and the name and address of the person by whom the goods contained in or sold by means of such machine or contrivance were supplied.

(3) Any person who—

(a) resists or obstructs an officer of customs and excise in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on such officer by this section, or

(b) fails or refuses to give to an officer of customs and excise any information in his possession or procurement demanded of him by such officer under this section, or

(c) on a demand for information being made to him under this section by an officer of customs and excise, gives to such officer any information which is false or misleading in any material respect,

shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of fifty pounds.

Interpretation of Sections 25 and 26 of the Finance Act, 1926 .

30. —In order to remove doubts it is hereby declared and enacted that the power conferred by section 26 of the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926), on officers of customs and excise to inspect and take copies of or extracts from the documents mentioned in that section includes and always did include power to remove all or any such documents from the premises in which such documents are found, and that the power conferred by section 25 of the said Act on the Revenue Commissioners to make regulations authorising officers of customs and excise to examine and take copies of or extracts from any such document as is mentioned in paragraph (d) of sub-section (1) of that section includes and always did include power to make regulations authorising officers of customs and excise to remove any such document.

Removal and detention of documents.

31. —(1) Whenever an officer of customs and excise is authorised by any enactment relating to a duty of customs or a duty of excise and contained in a British Statute or any Act of the Oireachtas passed before or after this Act or by any regulation heretofore made or hereafter to be made under any such enactment to demand the production of or to inspect or examine any book, account, letter, voucher, or other document such officer shall if he has reasonable ground for suspecting fraud in connection with any entry in or omission from such document or in connection with any transaction to which such document refers also be entitled to remove and detain such document.

(2) Whenever an officer of customs and excise removes a document under this section he shall, on demand made by the person from whom he obtained such document at any time while such document is detained under this section, either (at the election of such officer) furnish to such person a copy of such document or allow such person to inspect and take a copy of such document.

(3) Any person who resists or obstructs an officer of customs and excise in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty of fifty pounds and such penalty shall be a customs penalty where the officer in respect of whom the offence was committed was exercising the said powers for the purposes of the Customs Acts and shall be an excise penalty where such officer was exercising such powers for the purposes of any British Statute or Act of the Oireachtas relating to duties of excise and the management of those duties.

False returns in relation to duty on bets.

32. —Any person who, in a return made by him to the Revenue Commissioners in relation to or for the purposes of the duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926), makes any statement or representation which is to his knowledge false or misleading, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five hundred pounds.