FINANCE ACT, 1976

• (iv) the provision of docking, landing, loading or unloading facilities, including customs clearance, directly in connection with the disembarkation or embarkation of passengers or the importation or exportation of goods;

• (v) goods delivered on board ships or aircraft going to places outside the State; and the repairing and servicing of ships and aircraft engaged in international commercial transport of passengers and goods;

• (vi) fishing nets, and sections thereof, of a kind commonly used by commercial fishermen for the purposes of their occupation and not commonly used for any other purpose;

• (vii) animal feeding stuff, excluding feeding stuff which is packaged, sold or otherwise designated for the use of dogs, cats, cage birds or domestic pets;

• (viii) fertiliser (within the meaning of the Fertilisers, Feeding Stuffs and Mineral Mixtures Act, 1955) which is delivered in units of not less than 10 kilograms and the sale or manufacture for sale of which is not prohibited under section 4 or 6 of the said Act;

• (ix) services provided by the Commissioners of Irish Lights in connection with the operation of lightships, lighthouses or other navigational aids;

• (x) the construction, repair, maintenance and improvement of roads, harbours, and sewerage works by the State, local authorities or harbour authorities;

• (xi) life saving services provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution including the organisation and maintenance of the lifeboat service;

• (xii) food and drink of a kind used for human consumption, excluding food and drink specified in paragraph (xv) of the Third Schedule;

• (xiii) medicine of a kind used for human oral consumption;

• (xiv) medicine of a kind used for animal oral consumption, excluding medicine which is packaged, sold or otherwise designated for the use of dogs, cats, cage birds or domestic pets;

• (xv) seeds, plants, trees, spores, bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, of a kind used for sowing in order to produce food;

• (xvi) goods of different kinds which are packaged for sale as a unit (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the package) and in relation to which all the following conditions are satisfied—

• (a) the package consists of goods in relation to the delivery of some of which for a separate consideration tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (d) and, in relation to the delivery of the remainder of which for a separate consideration, tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (e),

• (b) the consideration for delivery is referable to the package as a whole and not to the different kinds of goods included therein, and

• (c) the total tax-exclusive value of the goods included in the package, in relation to the delivery of which for a separate consideration tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in the said section 11 (1) (e), does not exceed 50 per cent. of the total tax-exclusive consideration for the package or 2½ pence, whichever is the lesser;

• (xvii) articles of personal clothing, footwear and textile handkerchiefs, excluding articles of clothing made wholly or partly of fur skin other than garments merely trimmed with fur skin unless the trimming has an area greater than one-fifth of the area of the outside material;

• (xviii) fabrics, yarn and thread of a kind normally used in the manufacture of clothing, including elastics, tape and padding materials in the form supplied for the manufacture of clothing;

• (xix) sole and upper leather of a kind supplied for the manufacture and repair of footwear, and also soles, heels and insoles of any material;

• (xx) (a) coal, peat and other solid substances held out for sale solely as fuel,

• (b) gas of a kind used for domestic or industrial heating or lighting, whether in gaseous or liquid form, but not including gas of a kind normally used for welding and cutting metals or gas sold as lighter fuel,

• (c) electricity,

• (d) hydrocarbon oil of a kind used for domestic or industrial heating excluding gas oil (within the meaning of the Hydrocarbon Oil (Rebated Oil) Regulations, 1961) other than gas oil which has been duly marked in accordance with Regulation 6 (2) of the said Regulations.

PART III

THIRD SCHEDULE

PART I

Goods Chargeable at the Rate Specified in Section 11 (1) (a)

• (i) Animal medicine excluding medicine—

• (a) of a kind specified in paragraph (xiv) of the Second Schedule, or

• (b) which is packaged, sold or otherwise designated for the use of dogs, cats, cage birds or domestic pets;

• (ii) animal and vegetable produce in an unprocessed state, such as wool, horsehair, bristles, feathers, hides, skins, carcases, roots, plants and cereals;

• (iii) fertiliser other than fertiliser of a kind specified in paragraph (viii) of the Second Schedule;

• (iv) live animals, other than horses and greyhounds;

• (v) machinery, plant or equipment of a kind commonly used by farmers or fishermen in the State for the purposes of their occupation and not commonly used for any other purpose;

• (vi) seeds, plants, trees, spores, bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, of a kind used for sowing for a purpose other than the production of food;

• (vii) printed books and booklets;

• (viii) newspapers and periodicals;

• (ix) maps, atlases and globes;

• (x) materials commonly used in the construction of buildings (including haybarns, harbours, bridges and roads) being—

• (a) blocks, beams, piles, pillars, posts, slabs, lintels, sills and members of concrete, whether reinforced or not,

• (b) cement, concrete, lime, mortar, plaster, stone and bricks,

• (c) dampcourse felts and other materials normally supplied as dampcourses,

• (d) earth, sand and gravel,

• (e) floor and wall tiles of concrete or clay,

• (f) flue liners and chimney pots,

• (g) glass in the sheet, but not including mirrors,

• (h) insulation material in the form of sheets, slabs or rolls,

• (i) nails, screws, bolts, nuts, hinges, locks, fasteners; and fittings for doors, windows, tubing and gutters,

• (j) paint and distemper

• (k) plaster board,

• (l) polyethylene film of a kind commonly used by builders or farmers for the purposes of their occupation,

• (m) roofing felts and semi-solid substances used as a substitute for roofing felts,

• (n) roofing tiles, including ridge and hip tiles and slates,

• (o) sheets of metal or of other material, other than glass, not further worked than painted, sprayed or similarly finished,

• (p) steel or aluminium in the form of angles, tees, joists, channels, bars, wire, extrusions or plate, not further worked than galvanised, sprayed or similarly finished,

• (q) tar, asphalt, bitumen and pitch,

• (r) timber, including plywood, blockboard, laminated wood, reconstituted wood and wood veneer sold in the form of planks, sheets or beams and not further worked than sawn lengthwise, planed, moulded, tongued, grooved or v-sheeted,

• (s) tubing and gutters of metal, clay, cement, rubber, plastic or similar material of a kind normally supplied for structural purposes or for use as a conduit for cable, liquids, steam, gases or sewage;

• (xi) goods (other than hand tools) of any of the following descriptions namely:

• (a) lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, lifts, hoists, winches, transporter cranes, jacks and pulley tackle),

• (b) excavating, levelling, boring and extracting machinery for earth, minerals or ores (for example, bulldozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, scrapers, levellers and turf cutters),

• (c) machines designed, constructed and intended for use in spreading or finishing asphalt, bitumen, tar, tarmacadam or concrete,

• (d) works trucks that are mechanically propelled and are of the kind used in factories or warehouses for the transport or handling of goods over short distances, and

• (e) equipment and parts that are specially designed for use with any of the goods specified in subparagraphs (a) to (d) and are of a kind not normally used for any other purpose;

• (xii) immovable goods;

• (xiii) chemicals which are specifically designated for use in agriculture, being seed dressings, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, rodenticides, verminicides, soil sterilants, growth regulators, disinfectants or dairy detergents, but excluding chemicals which are packaged, sold or otherwise designated for human or domestic use;

• (xiv) calculating machines, accounting machines, cash registers, postage franking machines and similar machines incorporating a calculating device, automatic data processing machines and units thereof, magnetic and optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, parts suitable for use solely or principally with any of the machines specified in this paragraph;

• (xv) food and drink for human consumption of the following descriptions, that is to say—

• (a) beverages chargeable with any duty of excise specifically charged on spirits, beer, wine, cider, perry or Irish wine, and preparations thereof,

• (b) other manufactured beverages, including fruit juices and bottled waters, and syrups, concentrates, essences, powders, crystals or other products for the preparation of beverages, but excluding—

• (I) tea and preparations thereof,

• (II) cocoa, coffee and chicory and other roasted coffee substitutes, and preparations and extracts thereof, or

• (III) preparations and extracts of meat, yeast, egg or milk,

• (c) ice cream, ice lollipops, water ices and similar frozen products, and prepared mixes and powders for making such products,

• (d) (I) chocolates, sweets and similar confectionery (including drained, glacé or crystallised fruits), biscuits, crackers and wafers of all kinds, and all other confectionery and bakery products excluding bread,

• (II) in this subparagraph “bread” means food for human consumption manufactured by baking dough composed exclusively of a mixture of cereal flour and any one or more of the ingredients mentioned in the following subclauses in quantities not exceeding the limitation, if any, specified for each ingredient—

• (1) yeast or other leavening or aerating agent, salt, malt extract, milk, water, gluten,

• (2) fat, sugar and bread improver, subject to the limitation that the weight of any ingredient specified in this subclause shall not exceed 2 per cent. of the weight of flour included in the dough,

• (3) dried fruit, subject to the limitation that the weight thereof shall not exceed 10 per cent. of the weight of flour included in the dough,

other than food packaged for sale as a unit (not being a unit designated as containing only food specifically for babies) containing two or more slices, segments, sections or other similar pieces, having a crust over substantially the whole of their outside surfaces, being a crust formed in the course of baking or toasting, and

• (e) any of the following when supplied for human consumption without further preparation, namely, potato crisps, potato sticks, potato chips, potato puffs and similar products made from potato, or from potato flour or from potato starch, popcorn, and salted or roasted nuts whether or not in shells;

• (xvi) medicines for human use other than by oral consumption, excluding goods which are, or are described or marketed as, soaps, shampoos, detergents, bleaches, germicides, insecticides, antiseptics or disinfectants;

• (xvii) medical equipment and appliances being—

• (a) apparatus based on the use of x-rays or of the radiations from radio-active substances (including radiography and radiotherapy apparatus),

• (b) furniture designed exclusively for medical, dental, surgical or veterinary use (for example, operating tables and hospital beds with mechanical fittings),

• (c) invalid carriages, and other vehicles of a kind designed for use by invalids or infirm persons,

• (d) mechano-therapy appliances, massage apparatus, oxygen therapy apparatus, artificial respiration and similar apparatus and breathing appliances, excluding articles of a kind not designed exclusively for medical use,

• (e) medical, dental, surgical and veterinary instruments and appliances of a kind used solely in professional practice either to make a diagnosis or to prevent or treat an illness or to operate,

• (f) orthopaedic appliances, surgical belts, trusses and the like, artificial limbs, eyes, teeth and other artificial parts of the body, deaf aids, splints and other fracture appliances,

• (g) parts or accessories suitable for use solely or principally with any of the goods specified in subparagraphs (a) to (f),

• (h) diagnostic reagents,

• (i) x-ray film, and opacifying preparations for x-ray examinations,

• (j) wadding, gauze, bandages and similar goods (for example, dressings, adhesive plasters, poultices) and surgical sutures;

• (xviii) railway rolling stock and parts thereof, railway and tramway track fixtures, traffic signalling equipment (including fog signals), railway and tramway track construction materials of iron or steel, including rails, check-rails, switch blades, crossings (or frogs), crossing pieces, point rods, rack rails, sleepers, fish plates, chairs, chair wedges, sole plates, rail chips, bedplates and ties;

• (xix) mechanically propelled road vehicles, other than vehicles of a kind specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule;

• (xx) trailers (excluding caravans, mobile homes and trailer tents);

• (xxi) ships, boats and other vessels excluding—

• (a) ships, boats and other vessels designed and constructed for the conveyance of passengers and not exceeding one hundred tons gross, and

• (b) sports and pleasure craft of all descriptions including yachts, cabin cruisers, dinghies, canoes, skiffs and racing boats;

• (xxii) tobacco;

• (xxiii) fuel, other than fuel of a kind specified in paragraph (xx) of the Second Schedule;

• (xxiv) hydrocarbon oil (including greases), other than hydrocarbon oil of a kind specified in paragraph (xx) of the Second Schedule;

• (xxv) tyres, tyre cases, interchangeable tyre treads, inner tubes and tyre flaps, for wheels of all kinds;

• (xxvi) spare parts for goods of a kind specified in paragraphs (v) and (xx) and for mechanically propelled road vehicles, bicycles and boats;

• (xxvii) bodies and chassis designed for mechanically propelled road vehicles other than for motor vehicles of a kind specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule;

• (xxviii) second-hand movable goods, other than goods of a kind specified in the Second Schedule or the Fourth Schedule;

• (xxix) goods of different kinds which are packaged for sale as a unit (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the package) and in relation to which all the following conditions are satisfied:

• (a) the package consists of goods in relation to the delivery of some of which for a separate consideration tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (a) and, in relation to the delivery of the remainder of which for such a consideration, tax would be chargeable at any other rate or rates,

• (b) the consideration for delivery is referable to the package as a whole and not to the different kinds of goods included therein, and

• (c) the total tax-exclusive value of the goods included in the package, in relation to the delivery of which for a separate consideration or separate considerations tax would be chargeable at a rate or rates other than the rate specified in the said section 11 (1) (a), does not exceed 50 per cent. of the total tax-exclusive consideration for the package or 2½ pence, whichever is the lesser.

PART II

Services Chargeable at the Rate Specified in Section 11 (1) (a)

• (i) Services other than the hiring or letting of goods;

• (ii) the hiring (in this paragraph referred to as the current hiring) to a person of—

• (a) goods of a kind described in subparagraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (xxi) of Part I of this Schedule, or

• (b) a caravan, mobile home or trailer tent,

under an agreement, other than an agreement of the kind referred to in section 3 (1) (b), for any term or part of a term which, when added to the term of any such hiring (whether of the same goods or of other goods of the same kind) to the same person during the period of 12 months ending on the date of the commencement of the current hiring, does not exceed 5 weeks;

• (iii) the hiring of goods of a kind on the delivery of which, if paragraph (xxviii) of Part I of this Schedule were disregarded, tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (a);

• (iv) the hiring of goods of a kind specified in the Fourth Schedule;

• (v) the hiring of cinematograph films;

• (vi) the letting of immovable goods;

• (vii) the hiring to a person under an agreement in writing, other than an agreement of the kind referred to in section 3 (1) (b), entered into before the 24th day of October, 1972, of movable goods in the possession of the person on the 1st day of November, 1972, of a kind on the delivery of which, if paragraph (xxviii) of Part I of this Schedule were disregarded, tax would be chargeable at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (e);

• (viii) the hiring of goods of a kind specified in paragraph (xvii) of the Second Schedule.

PART IV

FOURTH SCHEDULE

PART I

Goods Chargeable at the Rate Specified in Section 11 (1) (c) (i)

Motor vehicles designed and constructed for the conveyance of persons by road, and sports motor vehicles, estate cars, station wagons, motor cycles, motor scooters, mopeds and auto cycles, whether or not designed and constructed for the purpose aforesaid, excluding vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of more than sixteen persons (inclusive of the driver), invalids carriages and other vehicles of a type designed for use by invalids or infirm persons.

PART II

Goods Chargeable at the Rate Specified in Section 11 (1) (c) (ii)

• (i) Radio receiving sets and television receiving sets which are of the domestic or portable type or which are of a kind suitable for use in road vehicles;

• (ii) gramophones, radiogramophones, record reproducers;

• (iii) gramophone records.

61 Consequential amendments.

61.—In consequence of the amendments specified in sections 53 and 60 and the repeals specified in Part II of the Fifth Schedule, the Principal Act is hereby further amended as specified in Part II of the First Schedule.

62 Priority in bankruptcy and winding-up.

62.—(1) There shall be included among the debts which, under section 4 of the Preferential Payments in Bankruptcy (Ireland) Act, 1889, are to be paid in priority to all other debts in the distribution of the property of a person, being a bankrupt, arranging debtor, or person dying insolvent, any tax for which the person is liable in relation to taxable periods which shall have ended within the period of 12 months next before the date on which the order of adjudication of the bankrupt was made, the petition of arrangement of the debtor was filed, or, as the case may be, the person died insolvent and any interest payable by the person under section 21 of the Principal Act.

• (2)
• (a) There shall be included among the debts which, under section 285 of the Companies Act, 1963, are to be paid in priority to all other debts in the winding-up of a company any tax for which the company is liable in relation to taxable periods which shall have ended within the period of 12 months next before the relevant date and any interest payable by the company under section 21 of the Principal Act.

• (b) Paragraph (a) shall, for the purposes of section 98 of the Companies Act, 1963, be deemed to be contained in section 285 of that Act.

• (c) In paragraph (a) “the relevant date” has the same meaning as it has in section 285 of the Companies Act, 1963.

63 Transitional provisions in respect of motor vehicles.

63.—(1) In this section—

“qualified vehicles” means vehicles which, on or before the 29th day of February, 1976, were delivered to or imported by a person other than a manufacturer of goods of the kind so delivered or imported in such circumstances that tax at the rate of 36·75 per cent. was chargeable in relation to such delivery or importation;

“relevant delivery” means a delivery of any qualified vehicles in such circumstances that, but for this section, tax at the rate of 10 per cent. would be chargeable;

“vehicles” means goods (other than second-hand goods) of a kind specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule (inserted by this Act) to the Principal Act.

• (2) During the period which commenced on the 1st day of March, 1976, and ended on the 30th day of April, 1976, notwithstanding the provisions of section 11 of the Principal Act, tax shall, in relation to a relevant delivery, be chargeable and be deemed to have been chargeable at the rate of 6·75 per cent.

• (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 12 (1) of the Principal Act, the amount deductible by a person under that section in relation to—

• (a) any qualified vehicles, and

• (b) the delivery or importation of any vehicles (not being qualified vehicles) in relation to the consideration for a delivery of which by him tax was charged at the rate of 6·75 per cent.,

shall not exceed, in the case of a delivery of such goods to him, 6·75 per cent. of the consideration payable by him exclusive of any tax payable in respect of the delivery by the person making the delivery and, in the case of an importation, 6·75 per cent. of the value of the goods calculated in accordance with section 15 (4) of the said Act.

PART V Excise Duties on Mechanically Propelled Vehicles

Chapter I General

64 Interpretation and commencement (Part V).

64.—(1) In this Part—

“the Act of 1920” means the Roads Act, 1920;

“the Act of 1952” means the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952;

“general licence” means a licence issued under section 9 of the Act of 1920;

“licensing authority” means a county council or the corporation of a county borough;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government;

“motor dealer” means a person who carries on the business of manufacturing, repairing or selling vehicles to which this Part applies;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Part;

“public place” means any street, road or other place to which the public have access with vehicles, whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

“relevant licensing authority” means, in relation to a vehicle, the licensing authority in whose functional area the vehicle is for the time being ordinarily kept or in case the vehicle is not ordinarily kept in a particular such area, the licensing authority in whose functional area is situate the principal place of business of the person by whom the vehicle is kept or the place where he ordinarily resides;

“relevant person”, in relation to a vehicle, means a person whose name is most recently entered in relation to the registration of the vehicle pursuant to the Act of 1920;

“vehicle”, except where the context otherwise requires, means a mechanically propelled vehicle;

“vehicle excise duty” means the duty of excise charged and levied under section 1 of the Act of 1952.

• (2) A person shall for the purposes of this Part be regarded as keeping a vehicle in a public place if he causes it to be in such place for any period, however short.

• (3) This Part, other than section 79, shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Part.

65 Regulations generally (Part V).

65.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for prescribing any matter referred to in this Part as prescribed.

• (2) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Part shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

66 Application of Part V.

66.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Part applies to any vehicle in respect of which vehicle excise duty may be charged.

• (2) For so long as a vehicle is used under the authority of a general licence sections 70 and 71 of this Act shall not apply to it.

• (3) The Minister may by regulations provide for the exemption of persons using or keeping vehicles which are of a class or description specified in the regulations from all or any of the requirements of this Part, other than section 70, in so far as the requirement or requirements to which the regulations relate apply to the vehicles.

67 Certain particulars relating to and transfers of certain vehicles to be furnished to licensing authorities.

67.—(1) Where a person—

• (a) keeps for any period a vehicle in respect of which vehicle excise duty is chargeable, and

• (b) a licence referred to in section 1 of the Act of 1952 has not been issued in respect of the vehicle,

the person shall, not later than seven days after the commencement of the period, furnish to the relevant licensing authority in the prescribed manner the particulars prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.

• (2) Where as regards a vehicle to which this Part applies the relevant person transfers his interest in the vehicle, the person making the transfer shall within the prescribed period notify in the prescribed manner the relevant licensing authority of the transfer and give to that authority the particulars prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.

• (3) Every person who on the commencement of this section is a person to whom a licence mentioned in section 1 of the Act of 1952 has been issued, being a licence which is in force on such commencement, shall, as regards the vehicle to which the licence relates, be deemed to have complied with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.

• (4) Regulations made pursuant to section 12 (1) (d) of the Act of 1920 and which are in force on the commencement of this section shall be deemed also to have been made under this Part by the Minister.

• (5) Any person who—

• (a) fails to comply with a requirement of subsection (1) or (2) of this section, or

• (b) in purported compliance with any obligation to which he is subject by virtue of the said subsection (1) or (2), gives any information which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly gives information which is so false,

shall be guilty of an offence.

Chapter II Liability for, and Consequences of Non-Payment of, Vehicle Excise Duty

68 Payment and recovery of vehicle excise duty.

68.—(1) Vehicle excise duty which is charged in respect of a vehicle and which is for the time being unpaid shall be payable to the relevant licensing authority by any person who, either at the time when the duty is charged or at any other time during the period to which the duty relates, is in relation to the vehicle the relevant person.

• (2) In case vehicle excise duty charged in respect of a vehicle remains unpaid after the expiration of the period of fourteen days beginning on the day on which the duty is charged, the duty shall be recoverable by the relevant licensing authority as a simple contract debt and proceedings for its recovery may be taken in any court of competent jurisdiction by the authority, or by any person appointed by the authority for the purposes of this section (which appointment the authority is hereby authorised to make), against any person by whom, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, the duty is payable to the authority.

• (3) Where vehicle excise duty is chargeable on any vehicle, the relevant licensing authority may issue a certificate under this section certifying either or both of the following, namely;

• (a) the amount (if any) of duty which is unpaid on the date of the certificate, and

• (b) the name of the person standing entered on that date in relation to the registration of the vehicle.

• (4) In any legal proceedings a certificate issued under subsection (3) of this section shall be prima facie evidence of the facts thereby certified, and any document purporting to be such a certificate shall be admitted as evidence without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that the person was an officer of the licensing authority issuing the certificate, until the contrary is shown.

• (5) In any proceedings for the recovery of vehicle excise duty charged on a vehicle, other than a vehicle to which section 70 of this Act applies, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that the vehicle was not at any time during the period to which the duty relates used either by him or by another person pursuant to a duly given authorisation.

69 Vehicles to which section 70 applies.

69.—(1) Section 70 of this Act applies to a vehicle to which a declaration under this section relates.

• (2) The Government may by order declare that any mechanically propelled vehicle which is a vehicle to which this Part applies and is of a class or description specified in the order shall, for so long as the order remains in force, be a vehicle to which section 70 of this Act applies.

• (3) The Government may by order revoke or amend an order under this section (including an order under this subsection).

• (4) Where, on an application being made in the prescribed manner as regards, and on the prescribed particulars being furnished in respect of, a vehicle which apart from this section would be a vehicle to which section 70 of this Act applies, the relevant licensing authority is satisfied that the vehicle is permanently incapable of being used or has been broken up or destroyed or has been exported permanently, the relevant licensing authority shall amend in the prescribed manner the particulars furnished as regards the vehicle pursuant to section 5 of the Act of 1920 or pursuant to this Part, and thereupon the vehicle shall cease to be one in relation to which the said section 70 applies.

• (5) Where an application is made in the prescribed manner as regards, and the prescribed particulars are furnished in respect of, a vehicle which apart from this subsection would be a vehicle to which section 70 of this Act applies and the relevant licensing authority is satisfied that the vehicle has been stolen and has not been recovered and that such conditions or requirements (if any) as may be prescribed for the purposes of this subsection have been complied with, then for so long as, after the determination of the application by the authority, the vehicle continues not to be recovered, the said section 70 shall not, as respects the vehicle, apply to the person making the application.

• (6) An application under this section shall be determined as soon as may be by the licensing authority by which it is duly received.

• (7) When an order under this section is proposed to be made by the Government, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

70 Continuous liability for vehicle excise duty payable as regards certain vehicles.

70.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, vehicle excise duty shall be chargeable in respect of a vehicle to which this section applies whether or not the vehicle is used in a public place and any person who, either at the time when the duty is charged or at any other time during the period to which the duty relates, is in relation to the vehicle the relevant person shall be liable for payment of the duty.

• (2) A person shall not be liable by virtue of subsection (1) of this section to pay vehicle excise duty for—

• (a) any period for which such duty has been paid and has not been repaid in consequence of the surrender of a licence,

• (b) any period during which he keeps the vehicle solely for the purpose of repairing, maintaining or selling it in the course of his business as a motor dealer or using it under the authority of a general licence in the course of his business as a motor dealer.

71 Using and keeping vehicles on which chargeable vehicle excise duty is unpaid.

71.—(1) Where vehicle excise duty is chargeable on a vehicle (whether by virtue of this Act or the Act of 1952) and is unpaid, then any person who, at any time while the duty remains unpaid, uses, parks or otherwise keeps the vehicle in a public place or causes another person to so use the vehicle or who authorises such use of the vehicle by another person shall be guilty of an offence.

• (2) Where a defendant charged with an offence under this section was the servant of the person by whom the vehicle was kept, it shall be a good defence to the charge for the defendant to show that he was using the vehicle in obedience to the express orders of that person.

• (3)
• (a) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section he shall not be liable to have imposed on him in respect of the same act a penalty under section 13 (1) of the Act of 1920.

• (b) Where a penalty referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection is imposed on a person, he shall not be convicted of an offence under this section in relation to the same act.

72 Additional liability for using vehicle on which vehicle excise duty is unpaid.

72.—Where a person convicted of an offence under section 71 of this Act or section 13 (1) of the Act of 1920 is, at the time of the offence, as regards the vehicle in respect of which the offence was committed, the relevant person, the court shall, in addition to any penalty which it may impose in respect of the offence, order him to pay the relevant licensing authority a sum equal to the amount or, as may be appropriate, the aggregate of the amounts, of vehicle excise duty which, on the date of the conviction, is, by virtue of section 68 of this Act, recoverable from him by the relevant licensing authority.

Chapter III Miscellaneous

73 Licences to be fixed to and exhibited on vehicles.

73.—(1) Where a vehicle to which this Part applies is used, parked or otherwise kept at any time in a public place, if while the vehicle is being so used, parked or kept there is not fixed to and exhibited on the vehicle in accordance with section 5 (5) of the Act of 1920 a licence which is both issued in respect of the vehicle and is for the time being in force, then the person by whom the vehicle is so used, parked or kept at the time shall be guilty of an offence, and in addition to the person aforesaid, the person (if he is not the person aforesaid) who on the day on which the offence is committed is in relation to the vehicle the relevant person shall also be guilty of an offence.

• (2) A person shall not be convicted under this section and under section 12 (4) of the Act of 1920 in respect of the same omission.

74 Provisions supplementary to section 73.

74.—(1) Subsections (2), (3) and (5) of section 103 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, shall apply in relation to an offence under section 73 of this Act as if the offence were an offence to which the said section 103 applies.

• (2) Section 2 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975, shall be construed and shall have effect as if subsection (2) thereof contained a reference to functions relating to an offence under section 73 of this Act.

• (3) Section 3 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975, shall apply to an offence under section 73 of this Act and the said section 3 shall be construed and shall have effect in accordance with the foregoing.

75 Onus of proof; defence.

75.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence under this Part it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to negative by evidence the existence of any licence referred to in section 1 of the Act of 1952 and the onus of proving the existence of such licence shall be on the person seeking to avail himself thereof.

• (2) In any proceedings for an offence under this Part it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove that at the time at which the offence is alleged to have been committed, either by virtue of section 66 (2) or section 69 (4) of this Act, this Part did not apply to, or section 70 of this Act either did not apply to or had not ceased to apply in relation to, the vehicle to which the proceedings relate, or, by virtue of section 69 (5) of this Act or regulations made under section 66 (3) of this Act, the said section 70 or any requirement of this Part, did not apply or had not ceased to apply to the defendant, and in any such proceedings the onus of proving that at the said time this Part did not so apply or the said section 70 either did not apply or had ceased so to apply, shall be on the defendant.

• (3) In any proceedings for an offence under this Part in which it is alleged by the prosecution that the defendant caused or authorised the use by another person of a particular vehicle in a public place it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove that such use was so caused or authorised, but in such proceedings it shall be a good defence for the defendant to prove that on the occasion in question the vehicle was being used by a person other than the defendant and that the defendant had neither caused nor authorised such use.

76 Penalties (Part V).

76.—A person guilty of an offence under this Part shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

77 Amendment of section 12 (regulations) of Act of 1920.

77.—(1) Section 12 (1) (e) of the Act of 1920 shall have effect as if the words “(not exceeding five shillings)” were deleted.

• (2) Subsection (4) of section 12 of the Act of 1920 is hereby amended by the substitution of “one hundred pounds” for “twenty pounds”, and the said subsection (4), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

• (4) If any person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, any regulations made under this Act, he shall, for each offence, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.

78 Amendment of section 1 (excise duties in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles on public roads) of Act of 1952.

78.—(1) Section 1 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by—

• (a) the substitution of “in any public place” for “on public roads” in subsection (1); and

• (b) the substitution of the following for subsection (11):

• “(11) In this section—

‘public place’ means any street, road or other place to which the public have access with mechanically propelled vehicles as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

‘quarter’ means any period of three months.”;

and the said subsection (1), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

• (2) Section 1 (1) of the Act of 1952, as amended by subsection (1) of this section, shall be construed and shall have effect in relation to a vehicle to which section 70 of this Act applies as if the words “used in any public place” were deleted.

TABLE

1.—(1) On and after the 1st day of January, 1953, there shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be charged, levied and paid in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles used in any public place duties of excise at the rates specified in the Schedule to this Act.

79 Rates of vehicle excise duty.

79.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the Act of 1952, shall, as respects licences under section 1 of that Act for periods beginning on or after the 1st day of March, 1976, be amended by the substitution in Part I of the Schedule thereto (as amended by section 93 (4) of the Finance Act, 1973) of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (d) of paragraph 6:

• “(d) other vehicles to which this paragraph applies—

not exceeding 8 horse-power	£4 for each unit or part of a unit of horse-power
exceeding 8 horse-power and not exceeding 12 horse-power	£5 for each unit or part of a unit of horse-power
exceeding 12 horse-power	£6 for each unit or part of a unit of horse-power
electrically propelled	£22”.

• (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect in relation to any vehicle—

• (a) which is used as a small public service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, and for no other purpose,

• (b) which is fitted with a taximeter and is lawfully used as a street service vehicle within the meaning of the said Road Traffic Act, 1961, or for purposes incidental to such user and for no other purpose, or

• (c) which is used as a hearse and for no other purpose.

• (3) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect in relation to vehicles specified in Article 3 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 170) (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Order, 1968, as amended by the Imposition of Duties (No. 216) (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Order, 1975.

• (4) Proceeds of the variations of duties effected by this section, calculated in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct, shall, notwithstanding section 3 of the Act of 1952, be disregarded in any determination of a sum to be issued out of the Central Fund under section 2 (1) of the Act of 1920.

PART VI Miscellaneous

80 Capital Services Redemption Account.

80.—(1) In this section—

“the principal section” means section 22 of the Finance Act, 1950;

“the 1975 amending section” means section 54 of the Finance Act, 1975;

“the twenty-sixth additional annuity” means the sum charged on the Central Fund under subsection (4) of this section;

“the Minister”, “the Account” and “capital services” have the same meanings respectively as they have in the principal section.

• (2) In relation to the twenty-nine successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on the 31st day of December, 1976, subsection (4) of the 1975 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£7,122,533” for “£7,272,655”.

• (3) Subsection (6) of the 1975 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£4,496,112” for “£4,681,565”.

• (4) A sum of £9,472,954 to redeem borrowings, and interest thereon, in respect of capital services shall be charged annually on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof in the thirty successive financial years commencing with the financial year ending on the 31st day of December, 1976.

• (5) The twenty-sixth additional annuity shall be paid into the Account in such manner and at such times in the relevant financial year as the Minister may determine.

• (6) Any amount of the twenty-sixth additional annuity not exceeding £6,097,945 in any financial year, may be applied towards defraying the interest on the public debt.

• (7) The balance of the twenty-sixth additional annuity shall be applied in any one or more of the ways specified in subsection (6) of the principal section.

81 Repeals.

81.—(1) The enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

• (2) The enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part II of the Fifth Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

• (3)
• (a) Subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1976.

• (b) Subsection (2) of this section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1976.

82 Care and management of taxes and duties.

82.—All taxes and duties (except the excise duties on mechanically propelled vehicles) imposed by this Act are hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

83 Short title, construction and commencement.

83.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Finance Act, 1976.

• (2) Part I of this Act (so far as relating to income tax, including sur-tax) shall be construed together with the Income Tax Acts and (so far as relating to corporation profits tax) shall be construed together with Part V of the Finance Act, 1920, and the enactments amending or extending that Part and (so far as relating to corporation tax) shall be construed together with the Corporation Tax Acts and (so far as relating to capital gains tax) shall be construed together with the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975.

• (3) Part II of this Act, so far as it relates to customs, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and the said Part II, so far as it relates to duties of excise, shall be construed together with the Statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties.

• (4) Part III of this Act shall be construed together with the Stamp Act, 1891, and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

• (5) Part IV of this Act shall be construed together with the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972, and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

• (6) Part I of this Act shall, save as is otherwise expressly provided therein, be deemed to have come into force and shall take effect as on and from the 6th day of April, 1976.

• (7) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment including this Act.

FIRST SCHEDULE Amendment of Enactments

PART I

Amendments Consequential on Changes in Personal Reliefs

The Income Tax Act, 1967, is hereby amended in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph:

• (i) In section 138—

• (a) in subsection (1), for “£920”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “£1,010”, for “£575” there shall be substituted “£620”, and for “£1,035” there shall be substituted “£1,125”,

• (b) in subsection (2), for “£575”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “£620”, and for “£635” there shall be substituted “£685”.

• (ii) In section 141, in subsection (1A), for “£230” there shall be substituted “£240” and for “£310”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “£320”.

PART II

Amendments Consequential on Certain Amendments of Value-Added Tax Act, 1972

Section 61.

Number and Year	Short Title	Amendment
(1)	(2)	(3)
No. 22 of 1972	Value-Added Tax Act, 1972.	In section 1 (1) the following definition shall be inserted:
		“‘fur skin’ means any skin with the fur, hair or wool attached except skin of woolled sheep or lamb;”.
		In section 3 (5) (b) “either of the rates” shall be substituted for “the rate”.
		In section 10 (2A) (b) (ii) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1975) “either of the rates” shall be substituted for “the rate”.
		In section 10—
		(a) in subsection (7), “10 per cent.” shall be substituted for “14·81 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1973), and
		(b) in subsection (8) (b), “30 per cent.” shall be substituted for “45 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1973).
		In section 11—
		(a) in subsection (2) (b) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1975) “a rate” shall be substituted for “the rate”, and
		(b) in subsection (3), “paragraph (xxix)” shall be substituted for “paragraph (xxxii)”.
		In section 15—
		(a) in subsection (1), the following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (b):
		“(b) (i) on goods of a kind specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (c) (i) on the value of the goods, (ii) on goods of a kind specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule at the rate specified in section 11 (1) (c) (ii) on the value of the goods, and”,
		and
		(b) in subsection (4) (b), “10 per cent.” shall be substituted for “14·81 per cent.” (inserted by the Finance Act, 1973).

SECOND SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Spirits

Description of Spirits	Rate of Duty
	£
For every gallon computed at proof of spirits of any description not mentioned hereinafter and imported mixtures and preparations containing spirits	26·0376
For every gallon of imported perfumed spirits entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested	41·660
For every gallon of imported liqueurs, cordials, mixtures and other preparations in bottle entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested	35·151

THIRD SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Tobacco

Description of Tobacco	Description of Tobacco	Rate of Duty
		£
Unmanufactured tobacco:	Unmanufactured tobacco:
Unstripped or unstemmed:	Unstripped or unstemmed:
Containing 10% or more by weight of moisture	the lb.	6·789
Other	the lb.	6·989
Stripped or stemmed:	Stripped or stemmed:
Containing 10% or more by weight of moisture	the lb.	6·789
Other	the lb.	6·989
Manufactured tobacco:	Manufactured tobacco:
Cigars	the lb.	6·817
Cigarettes	the lb.	6·843
Cavendish or negrohead:	Cavendish or negrohead:
Manufactured in bond	the lb.	6·889
Other	the lb.	6·914
Snuff:	Snuff:
Containing more than 13% by weight of moisture	the lb.	6·814
Other	the lb.	6·914
Reconstituted or homogenised tobacco:	Reconstituted or homogenised tobacco:
Containing 10% or more by weight of moisture	the lb.	6·789
Other	the lb.	6·989
Other:	Other:
Hard pressed tobacco	the lb.	5·643
Other pipe tobacco	the lb.	6·606
Other manufactured tobacco	the lb.	6·831

FOURTH SCHEDULE

PART I

Rates of Excise Duty on Wine

Description of Wine	Description of Wine	Rate of Duty
		£
Still	Still
Not exceeding 25° of proof spirit	the gallon	2·299
Exceeding 25° but not exceeding 30° of proof spirit	the gallon	2·611
Exceeding 30° of proof spirit	the gallon	3·480
Sparkling	the gallon	4·498
Wine whether still or sparkling exceeding 42° of proof spirit	Wine whether still or sparkling exceeding 42° of proof spirit
An additional duty for every degree or fraction of a degree above 42° of proof spirit	the gallon	0·175

PART II

Rates of Excise Duty on Made Wine

Description of Made Wine	Description of Made Wine	Rate of Duty
Still	Still	£
Not exceeding 25° of proof spirit	the gallon	1·921
Exceeding 25° but not exceeding 30° of proof spirit	the gallon	1·991
Exceeding 30° of proof spirit	the gallon	2·302
Sparkling	the gallon	3·201
Whether still or sparkling exceeding 42° of proof spirit	Whether still or sparkling exceeding 42° of proof spirit
An additional duty for every degree or fraction of a degree above 42° of proof spirit	the gallon	0·141

FIFTH SCHEDULE Enactments Repealed

PART I

Number and Year	Short Title	Extent of Repeal
(1)	(2)	(3)
No. 6 of 1967	Income Tax Act, 1967.	Section 125 (a).
		In section 157 (c), the words from “, and salaries” to “to the Bank”.
		In section 557, the words “and Rule 6 of Schedule 2”.
		In Schedule 2, Rules 5, 6 and 7.

PART II

Number and Year	Short Title	Extent of Repeal
(1)	(2)	(3)
No. 22 of 1972	Value-Added Tax Act, 1972.	Section 11 (1) (b).
		Section 12 (1) (b).
		Section 13.
		In section 17—
		(a) subsections (2) and (4),
		(b) in subsection (6), the words “, otherwise than as required by section 13”,
		(c) in subsection (7), the words from “and an amendment of an invoice” to the end of the subsection,
		(d) in subsection (8), the words “or subsection (2), as may be appropriate,” and
		(e) in subsection (10) (a), the words from “or goods or services” to “to a registered person”.
		In section 26—
		(a) in subsection (1), the numerals “13”, and
		(b) in subsection (2), the words “otherwise than under and in accordance with section 13”.
		In section 32 (1)—
		(a) paragraph (f), and
		(b) in paragraph (w), the words from “and the treatment” to the end of the paragraph.
		Section 35 (1) (c).