Finance Act , 1981

33.—(1) In this section “alcohol” means pure ethyl alcohol.

(2) The duty of excise on spirits imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the several rates specified in the Third Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in the Second Schedule to the Act of 1980.

(3) Nothing in this section shall operate to relieve from or to prejudice or affect the additional duty of excise in respect of immature spirits imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975 and the third column of the First Schedule to that Order as amended by paragraph 4 (2) of the Imposition of Duties (No. 244) (Excise Duties on Spirits, Beer and Hydrocarbon Oils) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 415 of 1979), and the third column of the First Schedule to that Order.

(4) If any person proves to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that spirits in respect of which a duty of excise has been paid by him have become spoilt or otherwise unfit for consumption, the person may, with the permission of the Revenue Commissioners and subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose, destroy the spirits and, upon proof of such destruction to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, they may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay to such person any duty of excise paid on such spirits.

34 Wine and made wine.

34.—(1) In the Fourth Schedule to this Act—

“actual alcoholic strength by volume” means the number of volumes of pure alcohol contained at a temperature of 20C in 100 volumes of the product at that temperature;

“ vol” means alcoholic strength by volume.

(2) The duty of excise on wine imposed by paragraph 5 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the several rates specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1980.

(3) The duty of excise on made wine imposed by paragraph 6 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the several rates specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1980.

35 Hydrocarbons.

35.—(1) The duty of excise on mineral hydrocarbon light oil imposed by paragraph 11 (1) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the rate of £16.53 per hectolitre in lieu of the rate specified in section 70 (2) of the Act of 1980.

(2) The duty of excise on hydrocarbon oil imposed by paragraph 12 (1) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the rate of £10.88 per hectolitre in lieu of the rate specified in section 70 (3) of the Act of 1980.

(3) As on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, the rate of any repayment allowed under paragraph 12 (11) of the Order of 1975 in respect of hydrocarbon oil on which such repayment is allowable and on which the excise duty mentioned in subsection (2) of this section was paid at the rate of £10.88 per hectolitre shall be £9.09 per hectolitre in lieu of the rate allowable immediately before the 29th day of January, 1981.

(4) The duty of excise on gaseous hydrocarbons in liquid form imposed by section 41(1) of the Finance Act, 1976, shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the rate of £0.40 per gallon in lieu of the rate specified in section 70(14) of the Act of 1980.

(5) (a) In this subsection—

“hydrocarbon oil” means hydrocarbon oil delivered on or after the 1st day of June, 1981, on which the excise duty imposed by paragraph 12 of the Order of 1975 has been paid;

“sea-fishing boat” means a sea-fishing boat which—

(i) is registered in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Registry, Lettering and Numbering of Fishing Boats) (Regulations) Order, 1927 (S.R. & O., No. 105 of 1927), and

(ii) is registered under the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955;

“sea-fishing” does not include sea-angling.

(b) Where the owner or master of a sea-fishing boat shows to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that hydrocarbon oil was used for combustion in the engine of that boat while engaged in sea-fishing, the Revenue Commissioners may, subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay excise duty at the rate of £0.44 per hectolitre on the oil so used.

(c) Except where the Revenue Commissioners otherwise allow, an application for repayment of duty under this subsection shall be in respect of hydrocarbon oil used within a period of three months and shall be made not later than six months following the end of such period.

36 Televisions.

36.—The duty of excise on televisions imposed by paragraph 5(1) of the Imposition of Duties (No. 236) (Excise Duties on Motor Vehicles, Televisions and Gramophone Records) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 57 of 1979), shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 29th day of January, 1981, at the several rates specified in the Fifth Schedule to this Act in lieu of the several rates specified in the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1980.

37 Amendment of duty on table waters.

37.—(1) Paragraph 9 of the Order of 1975 is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution for subparagraph (2) of the following subparagraph:

“(2) In addition to any other duty which may be chargeable, there shall be charged, levied and paid upon table waters made in the State which are sent out, on or for sale or otherwise, from the premises of the manufacturer or sold for consumption on the premises of the manufacturer, and on table waters imported into the State, a duty of excise at the rate of £0.372 per gallon.”,

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

“(3) In this Order ‘table waters’ includes any aerated waters and any beverages (including syrups or other liquors intended to be consumed only in a diluted form) put up for sale in bottles, cans, casks or other closed containers or receptacles other than—

(a) any liquor for the retail sale of which an excise licence is required,

(b) milk and milk products, whether or not flavoured,

(c) soups and broths, and

(d) fruit and vegetable juices which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, have not lost their original character through the addition of water or of other substances for sweetening, preservative or other purposes.”.

(2) Section 69 of the Act of 1980 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of the following paragraph:

“(a) Subject to the subsequent paragraphs of this subsection, every manufacturer of table waters on which the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 9 (2) of the Order of 1975, as amended, is paid by him shall, on and after the 1st day of March, 1981, be allowed a rebate of the duty as follows in relation to each premises in which he manufactures the table waters:

	Rate of Rebate
Where the quantity manufactured by him therein on which the duty has been paid by him in any year commencing on the 1st day of March does not exceed 40,000 gallons
	£0.16 per gallon for each gallon thereof.
exceeds 40,000 gallons and is less than 120,000 gallons
	£0.16 per gallon for each of the first 40,000 gallons and £0.08 per gallon for each other gallon.
is 120,000 gallons or more	£0.16 per gallon for each of the first 40,000 gallons and £0.08 per gallon for each of the next 80,000 gallons.”.

(3) This section shall have effect as on and from the 1st day of June, 1981.

38 Alteration of rate of duty on Refreshment House licence.

38.—(1) The duty of excise on Refreshment House licences, imposed by section 1 of the Refreshment Houses (Ireland) Act, 1860, shall be charged, levied and paid at the rate of £10 in lieu of the rate specified in section 77(5) of the Act of 1980.

(2) This section shall have, and be deemed to have had, effect as on and from the 1st day of April, 1981, and any duty of excise paid in excess of £10 under the said section 77(5) in respect of any Refreshment House licence issued on or after such day may be repaid.

39 Confirmation of Order.

39.—The Imposition of Duties (No. 246) (Beer) Order, 1980 (S.I. No. 49 of 1980), is hereby confirmed.

40 Increase of excise duties on licences for mechanically propelled vehicles.

40.—(1) Section 94 of the Finance Act, 1973 (No. 19 of 1973), is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (b) of subsection (2):

“(b) £16.50 in relation to a vehicle which does not exceed 16 horse-power, is fitted with a taximeter and is lawfully used as a street service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, or for purposes incidental to such user and for no other purpose;

(c) £20 in relation to any other vehicle (not being a vehicle in respect of which the said duty of excise is not chargeable or leviable or a vehicle to which paragraph (d) of this subsection applies);

(d) £10 in relation to a vehicle which exceeds 16 horse-power, is fitted with a taximeter and is lawfully used as a street service vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, or for purposes incidental to such user and for no other purpose.”.

(2) This section shall have effect—

(a) as respects licences under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952, taken out for periods beginning on or after the 1st day of March, 1981, in respect of specified vehicles (within the meaning of the said section 94) to which paragraphs (b) and (c) (inserted by this section) of the said subsection (2) apply, and

(b) as respects other mechanically propelled vehicles to which paragraphs (c) and (d) (inserted by this section) of the said subsection (2) apply and in respect of which licences under the said section 1 are taken out for periods beginning on or after the said 1st day of March, 1981.

(3) The appropriate repayments shall be made having regard to the provisions of the preceding subsections of this section and the repayments shall be made in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Minister for the Environment.

41 Amendment of Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952.

41.—Section 1 (2)(b) of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952, is, as respects licences under that Act for periods beginning on or after the 1st day of March, 1981, hereby amended by the substitution of “twenty pounds or less” for “ten pounds or less” (inserted by the Act of 1980).

PART III Value-Added Tax

42 Principal Act.

42.—In this Part “the Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972.

43 Amendment of section 1 (interpretation) of Principal Act.

43.—Section 1(1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended, with effect as on and from the 1st day of November, 1972, by the insertion in the definition of “development” after “correspondingly” of—

“, and

in this definition ‘building’ includes, in relation to a transaction, any prefabricated or like structure in respect of which the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) the structure—

(i) has a rigid roof and one or more rigid walls and, except in the case of a structure used for the cultivation of plants, a floor,

(ii) is designed so as to provide for human access to, and free movement in, its interior,

(iii) is for a purpose that does not require that it be mobile or portable, and

(iv) does not have or contain any aids to mobility or portability,

and

(b) (i) neither the agreement in respect of the transaction nor any other agreement between the parties to that agreement contains a provision relating to the rendering of the structure mobile or portable or the movement or re-location of the structure after its erection, and

(ii) the person for whom the structure is constructed, extended, altered or reconstructed signs and delivers, at the time of the transaction, to the person who constructed, extended, altered or reconstructed the structure a declaration of his intention to retain it on the site on which it is at that time located”.

44 Amendment of section 12 (deduction for tax borne or paid) of Principal Act.

44.—Section 12(2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “refunded to the taxable person in accordance with section 20(1)” for “repaid to the taxable person”.

45 Amendment of section 20 (refund of tax) of Principal Act.

45.—Section 20 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Where, in relation to a return lodged under section 19 or a claim made in accordance with regulations, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that, as respects any taxable period, the amount of tax, if any, actually paid to the Collector-General in accordance with section 19 together with the amount of tax, if any, which qualified for deduction under section 12 exceeds the tax, if any, which would properly be payable if no deduction were made under the said section 12, they shall refund the amount of the excess less any sums previously refunded under this subsection or repaid under section 12 and may include in the amount refunded any interest which has been paid under section 21.”.

PART IV Capital Acquisitions Tax

46 Relief in respect of certain marriage settlements.

46.—(1) Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976, is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph 9 of the following paragraph:

“10. (a) In this paragraph ‘specified disposition’ means a disposition—

(i) the date of which is a date prior to the 1st day of April, 1975,

(ii) in relation to which the disponer is a grandparent of the donee or successor, and

(iii) in which the marriage of the parents of the donee or successor was, at the date of the disposition, expressed to be the consideration.

(b) Where, on the cesser of a limited interest to which a parent of the donee or successor was entitled in possession, the donee or successor takes a gift or an inheritance under a specified disposition, then, for the purpose of computing the tax payable on the gift or inheritance, the donee or successor shall be deemed to bear to the disponer the relationship of a child.”.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 46 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976, interest shall not be payable on any repayment of tax which arises by virtue of this section where such tax was paid prior to the date of the passing of this Act.

PART V Stamp Duties

47 Amendement of section 58 (direction as to duty in certain cases) of Stamp Act, 1891.

47.—Section 58 of the Stamp Act, 1891, is hereby amended, with respect to instruments executed on or after the date of the passing of this Act, by the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsections:

“(7) (a) The consideration moving from the sub-purchaser shall, in a case to which subsection (4), (5) or (6) applies, be ascertained without regard to the value of any covenant, power, condition or arrangement relating to the subject matter of the conveyance which was not in the contract for sale entered into by the original seller and also without regard to any consideration the duty on which or on any part of which would be charged in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) of section 56.

(b) In paragraph (a) ‘the original seller’ means, in relation to a case to which subsection (4) applies, the person from whom the property is conveyed to the subpurchaser and, in relation to a case to which subsection (5) or (6) applies, the original seller referred to in the said subsection (5) or (6), as the case may be.

(8) Pargraph 4 of the Heading ‘Conveyance or Transfer on sale of any property other than stocks or marketable securities’ (inserted by the Finance Act, 1975) in the First Schedule to this Act shall not apply to determine the stamp duty to be charged on any conveyance referred to in subsection (4), (5) or (6).

(9) A conveyance in respect of which subsection (7) has effect shall be deemed to be a conveyance operating as a voluntary disposition inter vivos for the purposes of section 74 of the Finance (1909-10) Act, 1910.”.

48 Amendment of section 49 (exemption of certain instruments from stamp duty) of Finance Act, 1969.

48.—(1) Section 49 of the Finance Act, 1969, is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (2) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1976) of the following subsection:

“(2A) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, subsection (1) of this section shall have effect in relation to an instrument if, but (apart from the said subsection (2)) only if, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners—

(a) that there is in force in respect of the house to which the instrument relates a certificate of reasonable value under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979, and

(b) that the Minister for the Environment has certified that he is satisfied, on the basis of the information available to him at the time of so certifying, that the total floor area of the said house measured in the manner referred to in section 4(2)(b) of that Act does not or will not exceed the maximum total floor area standing specified in regulations under the said section 4(2)(b) and is not or will not be less than the minimum total floor area standing so specified.”.

49 Amendment of section 41 (stamp duty on bills of exchange and promissory notes) of Finance Act, 1970.

49.—(1) Section 41 of the Finance Act, 1970, is hereby amended by the substitution of “3p” for “one new penny” in subsection (1) and for “one penny in new currency” in subsection (3).

(2) This section shall have effect with respect to bills of exchange and promissory notes drawn on or after the date of the passing of this Act.

50 Revocation of Orders.

50.—(1) The Imposition of Duties (No. 248) (Stamp Duty on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes) Order, 1980 (S.I. No. 136 of 1980), is hereby revoked with respect to bills of exchange and promissory notes drawn on or after the date of the passing of this Act.

(2) The following Orders are hereby revoked with respect to instruments executed on or after the date of the passing of this Act:

(a) the Imposition of Duties (No. 247) (Stamp Duty on Conveyances to Sub-Purchasers) Order, 1980 (S.I. No. 123 of 1980),

(b) the Imposition of Duties (No. 249) (Exemption of Certain Instruments from Stamp Duty) Order, 1980 (S.I. No. 317 of 1980).

PART VI Miscellaneous

51 Capital Services Redemption Account.

51.—(1) In this section—

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

“the 1980 amending section” means section 88 of the Finance Act, 1980;

“the thirty-first 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, 1981, subsection (4) of the 1980 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£24,070,491” for “£20,397,734”.

(3) Subsection (6) of the 1980 amending section shall have effect with the substitution of “£15,194,542” for “£13,130,462”.

(4) A sum of £29,870,308 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, 1981.

(5) The thirty-first 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 thirty-first additional annuity, not exceeding £19,228,162 in any financial year, may be applied towards defraying the interest on the public debt.

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

52 Disclosure of information to the Ombudsman.

52.—Any obligation to maintain secrecy or other restriction upon the disclosure or production of information (including documents) obtained by or furnished to the Revenue Commissioners, or any person on their behalf, for taxation purposes, shall not apply to the disclosure or production of information (including documents) to the Ombudsman for the purposes of an examination or investigation by the Ombudsman, under the Ombudsman Act, 1980, of any action (within the meaning of the Ombudsman Act, 1980) taken by or on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners, being such an action taken in the performance of administrative functions in respect of any tax or duty under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

53 Care and management of taxes and duties.

53.—All taxes and duties imposed by this Act are hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

54 Short title, construction and commencement.

54.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Finance Act, 1981.

(2) Part I of this Act (so far as relating to income tax) shall be construed together with the Income Tax Acts and (so far as relating to corporation tax) shall be construed together with the Corporation Tax Acts.

(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 to the management of those duties.

(4) Part III of this Act shall be construed together with the Value-Added Tax Acts, 1972 to 1980, and may be cited together therewith as the Value-Added Tax Acts, 1972 to 1981.

(5) Part IV of this Act shall be construed together with the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976, and the enactments amending or extending that Act.

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

(7) 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, 1981.

(8) 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

Amendments Consequential on Changes in Personal Reliefs

(a) in section 138A, for “£500” there shall be substituted “£650”,

(b) in section 138B(1), for “£400” in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “£600”,

(c) in section 141(1A), in paragraphs (b) and (c), for “£390” in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “£500”.

SECOND SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Tobacco Products

Description of Product	Rate of Duty
Cigarettes	£15.30 per thousand together with an amount equal to 22.4 per cent. of the price at which the cigarettes are sold by retail.
Cigars	£28.614 per kilogram
Cavendish or negrohead	£28.915 per kilogram
Hard pressed tobacco	£18.492 per kilogram
Other pipe tobacco	£23.244 per kilogram
Other smoking or chewing tobacco	£24.146 per kilogram

THIRD SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Spirits

Description of Spirits	Rate of Duty
Spirits of any description not mentioned hereinafter and imported mixtures and preparations containing spirits	£20.922 per litre of alcohol in the spirits
Imported perfumed spirits entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested	£19.039 per litre
Imported liqueurs, cordials, mixtures and other preparations in bottle entered in such manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested	£16.110 per litre

FOURTH SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Wine

PART I

Description of Wine	Rate of Duty
Still:
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 15 vol	£1.40 per litre
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 15 vol but not exceeding 18 vol	£1.98 per litre
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 18 vol but not exceeding 22 vol	£2.56 per litre
Sparkling	£2.78 per litre
Wine whether still or sparkling of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 22 vol:
An additional duty for every 1 vol or fraction of 1 vol above 22 vol	£0.20 per litre

PART II Rates of Excise Duty on Made Wine

Description of Made Wine	Rate of Duty
Still:
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 15 vol	£1.31per litre
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 15 vol but not exceeding 18 vol	£1.83 per litre
Of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 18 vol but not exceeding 22 vol	£2.29 per litre
Sparkling	£2.49 per litre
Whether still or sparkling of an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 22 vol:
An additional duty for every 1 vol or fraction of 1 vol above 22 vol	£0.20 per litre

FIFTH SCHEDULE Rates of Excise Duty on Televisions

Description of Televisions	Rate of Duty
Colour televisions:
with a screen the maximum dimension of which does not exceed seventeen inches	£57 the television
with a screen the maximum dimension of which exceeds seventeen inches and does not exceed twenty-four inches	£72 the television
with a screen the maximum dimension of which exceeds twenty-four inches	£89 the television
Monochrome televisions:
with a screen the maximum dimension of which does not exceed seventeen inches	£18 the television
with a screen the maximum dimension of which exceeds seventeen inches	£28 the television