Finance Act , 1992

Type Act

Publication 1992-05-28

State In force

Source Irish Statute Book

articles 254

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the approved warehousekeeper shall not be liable to any penalty under the said subsection if he can satisfactorily account to the Commissioners for the excess or deficiency, whichever the case may be, but where there is an excess and the approved warehousekeeper is not prosecuted in respect thereof, he shall pay duty on the excess.

(3) If any person is knowingly concerned in the taking of any steps with a view to the fraudulent evasion, whether by himself or by another, of the duty of excise imposed by section 90, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of three times the amount of the duty concerned, or £1,000, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a penalty, under the lawrelating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of three times the amount of the duty concerned, or £10,000, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both.

(4) (a) The beer in excess (if any) found following the account taken under subsection (1) shall be liable to forfeiture.

(b) Any beer in respect of which an offence was committed under subsection (3) and any conveyances, containers or other articles used in connection, or associated in any way whatsoever, with such beer shall be liable to forfeiture.

(5) For the purposes of this section, where the strength of beer cannot be established to the satisfaction of an officer, such strength shall be assumed to be 7 per cent. unless or until the person concerned furnishes to the officer proof to the contrary.

98 Regulations (Chapter I).

98.—(1) The Commissioners may, with a view to managing, securing and collecting the duty of excise on beer imposed by section 90 or to the protection of the revenue derived from such duty, make regulations.

(2) In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may—

(a) govern the production (including determining when the production of beer begins and when it is completed), importation, treatment, packaging, keeping, holding, storage, removal from storage and exportation of materials and beer;

(b) require a licensed brewer to furnish, at such times and in such form as may be specified, a true and accurate return accounting for all materials received or produced by him, or used by him in the brewing of beer, and containing a reconciliation between such materials and beer brewed;

(c) regulate and, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, prohibit the addition of substances to, the mixing of, or the carrying out of other operations on or in relation to beer;

(d) provide for securing, paying, collecting, remitting and repaying the duty;

(e) determine the duty chargeable, the person liable to pay it and, in that connection, prescribe the method of charging the duty, the due date for payment and the method of payment, and any such regulations may provide that duty shall be charged according to the volume and strength of the beer declared by the warehousekeeper or importer or that ascertained by an officer, whichever is the greater;

(f) provide for charging duty, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, by reference to a strength which the beer might reasonably be expected to have, or the rate of duty in force, at a time other than that at which the beer becomes chargeable;

(g) provide for charging duty by reference to a strength and volume which the beer might reasonably be expected to have by reference to the strength and the volume ascertained in respect of a representative sample of such beer;

(h) prescribe the method for ascertaining the strength and the volume of beer, and any such regulations may provide that for the purpose of charging duty on beer the strength and the volume of the beer may be ascertained by reference to any information given on the container by means of a label or otherwise or to any documents relating to the container;

(i) regulate the movement and transportation of beer in such circumstances as may be prescribed;

(j) require an approved warehousekeeper and a person who imports beer to keep in a specified manner, and to preserve for a specified period, such accounts and records relating to the production, importation, purchase, receipt, keeping, holding, storage, packaging, sale, disposal or use by him of materials and beer as may be specified, and to keep for a specified period any other books, documents or records relating to any of the matters aforesaid and to allow an officer to inspect and take copies of such accounts and records and of any other books, documents or records kept by him relating to any of the matters aforesaid;

(k) require an approved warehousekeeper and a person who imports beer to furnish at such times and in such form as may be specified returns in relation to such matters as may be specified.

(3) As respects beer chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by section 90 and which has not been paid, regulations under this section may, without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), make provision—

(a) regulating the approval of persons and premises under section 95;

(b) regulating the brewing, holding or packaging of, or the carrying out of other operations on or in relation to, any such beer in an approved warehouse without payment of the duty;

(d) permitting the removal of any such beer from an approved warehouse without payment of the duty, in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed;

(e) for such persons as may be prescribed to be liable to pay the duty on any such beer held on, or removed without payment of duty from, an approved warehouse, and for the circumstances in which, and the time at which, they are liable to do so.

(4) Regulations under this section may make different provision for persons, premises or beer of different classes or descriptions, for different circumstances and for different cases.

(5) Regulations under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulations have been laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

99 Offences (Chapter I).

99.—(1) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Chapter (other than subsection (2) (b) of section 91, section 93 (5), section 94 (2), section 96 (4), and subsections (1) and (3) of section 97) or of regulations under section 98 shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

(2) Any beer in respect of which an offence was committed under subsection (1), and any materials or articles in respect of which the offence was committed, shall be liable to forfeiture.

100 Application of enactments (Chapter I).

100.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the provisions of the Customs Acts and of any instrument relating to duties of customs made under statute, and not otherwise applied by this Chapter, shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to the duty of excise imposed by section 90 on beer imported into the State as they apply in relation to duties of customs.

(b) Where, in relation to the duty of excise imposed by section 90, there is a provision in this Chapter corresponding to a provision of the Customs Acts or of any instrument relating to duties of customs made under statute, the latter provision shall not apply in relation to that duty of excise.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and of any instrument relating to duties of excise made under statute, and not otherwise applied by this Chapter, shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to the duty of excise imposed by section 90 on beer brewed in the State as they apply to duties of excise.

(b) Where, in relation to the duty of excise imposed by section 90, there is a provision in this Chapter corresponding to a provision of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise or of any instrument relating to the duties of excise made under statute, the latter provision shall not apply in relation to that duty of excise.

101 Repeals and revocations (Chapter I).

101.—(1) Each enactment specified in column (2) of Part I of the Third Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Part.

(2) Paragraph 7 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975, is hereby revoked.

102 Commencement (Chapter I).

102.—This Chapter and Part I of the Third Schedule 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.

Chapter II Implementation of Council Directive No.92/12/EEC.

103 Interpretation (Chapter II).

103.—(1) In this Chapter—

“authorised warehousekeeper” means a person authorised by the Revenue Commissioners to produce, process, hold, receive or dispatch in the course of his business, excisable products as defined in section 104 under a duty-suspension arrangement;

“Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;

“Community” means the territory of the Community as defined by the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and, in particular, Article 227 thereof except for the following national territories:

(a) in the case of Germany, the Island of Heligoland and the territory of Bsingen,

(b) in the case of Italy, Livigno, Campione d'Italia and the Italian waters of Lake Lugano,

(d) in the case of France, the overseas Departments of the Republic;

“the Directive” means Council Directive No. 92/12/EEC of 25th February 1992[^*];

“duty-suspension arrangement” means an arrangement under which excisable products are produced, processed, held or moved, excise duty being suspended;

“information” includes any representation of fact, whether in words or otherwise;

“information in a non-legible form” includes information on microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape or disc;

“Member State” means a Member State of the Community;

“non-registered trader” means a person other than an authorised warehousekeeper or registered trader who may, in the course of his business, occasionally receive excisable products from another Member State, subject to compliance with conditions imposed by the Commissioners, under a duty-suspension arrangement;

“non-State vendor” means a person who has his place of business in another Member State and who is authorised by the authorities of that Member State to sell excisable products which have already been released for consumption in that Member State to persons resident in the State, and who dispatches or transports such products directly or indirectly to such persons resident in the State;

“officer” means an officer of the Commissioners;

“the Order of 1975” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. No. 307 of 1975);

“prescribed” means specified in, or determined in accordance with, regulations made by the Commissioners under section 117;

“records” includes information in a non-legible form;

“registered trader” means a person other than an authorised warehousekeeper, who is authorised by the Commissioners to receive, in the course of his business, excisable products from another Member State under a duty-suspension arrangement;

“State vendor” means a person who is established in the State and who is authorised by the Commissioners to sell excisable products which have already been released for consumption in the State to persons resident in other Member States, and who dispatches or transports such products directly or indirectly, to such persons in other Member States;

“tax representative” means a person, established in the State, who is authorised by the Commissioners to act in the State as an agent on behalf of persons delivering excisable products from another Member State;

“tax warehouse” means a premises or place approved by the Commissioners, where excisable products are produced, processed, held, received or dispatched under a duty-suspension arrangement by an authorised warehousekeeper in the course of his business.

(2) In this Chapter, transactions originating in or intended for one of the following national territories are to be treated as originating in or intended for—

(a) France, in the case of the Principality of Monaco;

(b) Germany, in the case of Jungholz and Mittelberg (Kleines Walsertal);

(d) Italy, in the case of San Marino.

104 Excisable products.

104.—For the purposes of this Chapter the following shall be excisable products:

(a) spirits chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975,

(b) wine chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 5 (2) of the Order of 1975,

(d) beer chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by section 90,

(e) cider and perry chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 8 (2) of the Order of 1975,

(f) mineral hydrocarbon light oil chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 11 (1) of the Order of 1975,

(g) hydrocarbon oil, not otherwise liable to a duty of excise, chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 12(1) of the Order of 1975,

(h) gaseous hydrocarbons in liquid form chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by section 41 (1) of the Finance Act, 1976, and

(i) tobacco products chargeable with the duty of excise imposedby section 2 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977.

105 Warehousing.

105.—(1) Production, processing and holding of excisable products where the excise duty has not been paid, shall only take place in a tax warehouse.

(2) A person approved by the Commissioners under this section may produce, process, hold, receive or dispatch on premises approved by them under this section in relation to him, excisable products without payment of duty (and such person and such premises are hereafter in this section referred to as an “authorised warehousekeeper” and “tax warehouse”, respectively).

(3) A person shall not be approved as an authorised warehousekeeper under this section unless he appears to the Commissioners to satisfy such requirements for approval as they may think fit to impose.

(4) A premises shall not be approved as a tax warehouse under this section unless—

(a) it is used, or intended for use, for the production, processing, holding, receipt or dispatch of excisable products, and

(b) where it is used for the production or processing of excisable products, it is owned or occupied by a person who is licensed for such production or processing under any provision of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and any instrument relating to the duties of excise made under statute, and who shall deliver to an officer such information as may be required of him in relation to such premises and in relation to all rooms, places and vessels therein,

and the premises appears to the Commissioners to satisfy such requirements for approval as they may think fit to impose.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) requiring a premises used, or intended for use, for the production or processing of excisable products to be owned or occupied by a person referred to in subsection (4) (b), and imposing an obligation on such person to deliver to an officer such information as may be required of him in relation to such premises and in relation to all rooms, places and vessels therein, such person may be deemed by the Commissioners to have complied with such provisions if, at midnight on the day preceding the day on which this provision comes into operation, he has made entry of such premises and all rooms, places and vessels therein in accordance with any provision of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and any instrument relating to the duties of excise made under statute.

(6) The Commissioners may approve a person or premises under this section for such periods and subject to such conditions (including the giving of security) as they may think fit to impose and the approved person or approved premises shall comply with any such conditions.

(7) The Commissioners may, as a condition of approval of a premises under this section, allow or prohibit the carrying out of specified activities in relation to specified excisable products in such premises or in any part or parts thereof.

(8) The Commissioners may, at any time for reasonable cause and following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances—

(a) vary the terms of their approval of any person or premises under this section, or

(b) restrict the extent of the premises which are so approved, or

(9) The Commissioners may, subject to such additional conditions as they see fit to impose (including the giving of any additional security), deem premises approved by them as approved warehouses, and proprietors and occupiers of approved warehouses and approved warehousekeepers, respectively, under any provision of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and any instrument relating to the duties of excise made under statute, either before or after the passing of this Act, to be tax warehouses and authorised warehousekeepers, respectively.

(10) Except where otherwise provided for in this Chapter or in regulations made thereunder, the provisions of the Customs Acts, and of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and of any instrument relating to duties of excise made under statute, relating to warehouses and warehoused goods and their deposit and storage therein and removal thereto or therefrom shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to premises approved under this section and to excisable products allowed to be held in such premises as if the said premises and excisable products were warehouses and warehoused goods within the meaning of the said provisions.

(11) Any person who, otherwise than in a tax warehouse, produces, processes or holds excisable products on which excise duty has not been paid, or who does not comply with any of the conditions imposed by this section, shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have contravened or failed to comply with (as the case may be) the provisions of this section.

(12) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

(13) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section shall be liable to forfeiture.

106 Treatment of excisable products released for consumption in another Member State.

106.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the duties of excise imposed by the provisions referred to in section 104 on excisable products shall apply and have effect in relation to excisable products, released for consumption in another Member State, and imported into the State.

(2) With the exception of the excisable products specified in paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) of section 104 that have been imported into the State (other than in the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or in a portable fuel tank the capacity of which does not exceed 10 litres) excise duty shall not be chargeable in the State on excisable products released for consumption in another Member State which have been acquired by a private individual in another Member State for his own use and not for commercial purposes, and, which are transported bysuch private individual from the other Member State in which the products were acquired.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the question of whether excisable products referred to in that subsection are for a private individual's own use or are for commercial purposes shall be determined in accordance with regulations under section 117.

(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to acquire excisable products released for consumption in another Member State for the purpose of importing them into the State or to import such products into the State unless he complies with the following, that is to say:

(a) declares to an officer his intention to acquire, and secures the excise duty on, such excisable products in advance of the dispatch or collection of the said excisable products from the other Member State,

(b) pays the excise duty on such excisable products in the manner prescribed, and

(5) Without prejudice to subsection (2), where excisable products which have been released for consumption in another Member State are found in the State and a requirement specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) has not been complied with in respect of the said excisable products, any person in whose possession or charge the said excisable products are found shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have contravened or failed to comply with (as the case may be) subsection (4).

(6) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or of any regulations made thereunder or any person who takes possession or charge of excisable products to which this section applies in the knowledge that a requirement specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) has not been complied with in respect of those products shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence under the Customs Acts and shall for each such offence forfeit either three times the value of the excisable products concerned including any duty or tax chargeable thereon, or £1,000, whichever is the greater.

(7) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section, or any goods which are packed with or used in concealing such products, shall be liable to forfeiture and, where any such products are found in, on, or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or other conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said products and shall also be liable to forfeiture.

107 Provisions relating to vendors.

107.—(1) No person resident or established in the State shall dispatch or transport excisable products, released for consumption in the State, to another Member State unless he is approved by the Commissioners as a State vendor.

(2) (a) The Commissioners may approve a person as a State vendor.

(b) An approval as aforesaid shall be granted for such periods and subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may think fit to impose and, in particular, a State vendor shall not be approved unless he—

(i) secures, prior to the dispatch of excisable products, the duty payable in respect of those products in the Member State of destination, and

(ii) agrees to keep such accounts, records and other data or information as may be specified by the Commissioners under the terms of his approval.

(c) The Commissioners may at any time for reasonable cause and following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances, revoke an approval or vary its terms.

(3) A non-State vendor shall not dispatch or transport or cause to be dispatched or transported excisable products, released for consumption in another Member State, to persons resident or established in the State unless he—

(a) appoints a tax representative, as provided for in section 108, in the State,

(b) declares to an officer either directly or through a tax representative appointed by him his intention to dispatch or transport or to have dispatched or transported such excisable products to persons resident or established in the State prior to the dispatch of such products,

(d) complies with such other conditions as the Commissioners may prescribe in regulations under section 117.

(4) Where excisable products to which subsection (3) applies are found in the State and a requirement specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of the said subsection has not been complied with in respect of the said excisable products, any person in whose possession or charge the said excisable products are found shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have contravened or failed to comply with (as the case may be) the said subsection.

(5) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or any person who takes possession or charge of excisable products to which subsection (3) applies in the knowledge that a requirement specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of the said subsection has not been complied with in respect of those products shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

(6) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section, or any goods which are packed with or used in concealing such products, shall be liable to forfeiture and, where any such products are found in, on, or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or other conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said products and shall also be liable to forfeiture.

108 Tax representatives.

108.—(1) The Commissioners may approve a person to act as a tax representative on behalf of—

(a) a non-State vendor referred to in subsection (3) of section 107, and

(b) a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive.

(2) Approval of a tax representative shall be granted for such periods and shall be subject to such conditions, including the provision of security, as the Commissioners may prescribe in regulations under section 117, and the Commissioners may at any time for reasonable cause and following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances, revoke an approval or vary its terms.

(3) A tax representative shall be liable for the payment of excise duty on excisable products delivered to the State by or on behalf of the persons specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) on whose behalf the said representative is acting, and such excise duty shall be charged, levied and paid in the prescribed manner.

(4) A tax representative who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or any regulations made thereunder, shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a customs penalty of £1,000.

(5) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section, or any goods which are packed with or used in concealing such products, shall be liable to forfeiture, and where any such products are found in, on, or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or other conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said products and shall also be liable to forfeiture.

109 Movement of excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement from the State to other Member States.

109.—(1) This section applies to the release of excisable products by an authorised warehousekeeper from a tax warehouse in the State for delivery to another Member State including delivery to another Member State for export outside the Community.

(2) Subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may think fit to impose, an authorised warehousekeeper may release excisable products to which this section applies only where they are intended for delivery to—

(a) a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive, or

(b) a trader registered with the authorities of another Member State under the provisions of Article 16.2 of the Directive, or

(c) a trader referred to Article 16.3 of the Directive having his place of business in another Member State and who provides evidence in advance of the dispatch of the said excisable products to the said authorised warehousekeeper by means of a document (hereafter in this Chapter referred to as “a duty document”) certifying that—

(i) he has declared to the authorities of the Member State in which he has his place of business his intention to obtain the said excisable products from the said authorised warehousekeeper, and

(ii) he has paid to or secured with his authorities the excise duty on the said excisable products in accordance with procedures laid down by the said authorities,

(d) a territory outside the Community and are being transported to their destination through another Member State or other Member States.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), where excisable products to which this section applies are released for delivery, the authorised warehousekeeper shall be liable for payment of the excise duty on the said excisable products, and duty shall be charged, levied and paid in the prescribed manner.

(4) The liability to excise duty under subsection (3) shall be fully or partly discharged and satisfied and excise duty shall not be payable where, and to the extent that, the said excisable products have been fully or partly received by the person or traders referred to in subsection (2) or have been exported from the Community and evidence to this effect is received within the prescribed time and in the prescribed form.

(5) For the purpose of subsection (4), evidence of receipt shall be provided by means of a copy of the accompanying document, referred to in section 111, returned duly endorsed—

(a) by the said person or traders, and

(b) in the case of such Member States, as may be specified by the Commissioners in regulations under section 117, by the authorities of such Member States in which the said person or traders have their place of business, or

(c) in the case of exports from the Community, by the authorities of the Member State based at the customs office at the point of departure from the Community,

(as the case may be), to the effect that the said excisable products have been duly received or exported (as the case may be).

(6) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that excise duty has been paid in respect of excisable products to which this section applies, they may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may prescribe in regulations under section 117 remit or repay the said duty.

(7) An authorised warehousekeeper who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or with any regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £1,000 and the Commissioners may, on conviction on more than one occasion, revoke the approval of an authorised warehousekeeper.

110 Movement of excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement to the State from other Member States.

110.—(1) This section applies to the receipt of excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement by persons resident or established in the State from a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive.

(2) An authorised warehousekeeper may receive excisable products from a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive.

(3) It shall be unlawful for any person, other than an authorised warehousekeeper, to receive excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement from a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive unless he is—

(a) a registered trader, or

(b) a non-registered trader and complies with the provisions of subsection (5).

(4) (a) This subsection applies to the trader referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (3).

(b) A trader shall neither hold nor dispatch excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement.

(c) Registration of a trader shall be granted for such periods and shall be subject to such conditions (including the provision of security, the keeping of specified accounts and records and compliance with any other specified control requirements) as the Commissioners may prescribe in regulations under section 117.

(d) The Commissioners may at any time for reasonable cause and following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances revoke any registration so granted or vary its terms.

(e) Excise duty shall be chargeable at the time of receipt of excisable products by the said trader and shall be charged, levied and paid in the manner prescribed.

(5) (a) This subsection applies to the trader referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (3).

(b) A trader shall neither hold nor dispatch excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement and shall, in relation to each and every transaction involving excisable products to which this section applies, be required to—

(i) declare in writing to an officer his intention to obtain excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangment from another Member State, in advance of the dispatch of the said excisable products from that Member State, giving details of the intended transaction in the manner prescribed,

(ii) provide appropriate security to cover his liability for the payment of the excise duty on the said excisable products in the State,

(iii) pay the excise duty on receipt of the products in the manner prescribed, and

(iv) comply with such other requirements as may be prescribed.

(6) Where excisable products to which this section applies are found in the State and a requirement or condition specified in subsection (4) or (5) or in any regulations made under either of the said subsections has not been complied with in respect of the said excisable products, any person in whose possession or charge the said excisable products are found shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have contravened or failed to comply with (as the case may be) subsection (4) or (5), as appropriate.

(7) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or any regulations made thereunder or any person who takes possession or charge of excisable products to which this section applies in the knowledge that a requirement or condition specified in subsection (4) or (5) or in any regulations made under either of the said subsections has not been complied with in respect of those products shall be guilty of an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be liable on summary conviction to a customs penalty of £1,000.

(8) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section or any goods which are packed with or used in concealing such products, shall be liable to forfeiture and, where any such products are found in, on, or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or other conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said products and shall also be liable to forfeiture.

111 Accompanying documents.

111.—(1) With the exception of excisable products referred to in subsection (2) of section 106, excisable products, in the course of delivery—

(a) from another Member State to any person in the State,

(b) from any person in the State to any person in another Member State, and

shall, at all times while within the State during the course of such delivery, be accompanied by a document (hereafter in this Chapter referred to as “an accompanying document”).

(2) Where an authorised warehousekeeper dispatches excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement for delivery to a person in another Member State not being either—

(a) a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive, or

(b) a trader registered with the authorities of another Member State under the provisions of Article 16.2 of the Directive,

he shall ensure that, in addition to the accompanying document, a copy of the duty document referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection(2) of section 109 is dispatched with and accompanies the said excisable products in the course of their delivery.

(3) Where excisable products are dispatched under a duty-suspension arrangement by a person authorised by the authorities of another Member State to operate a tax warehouse under the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive to a trader referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 110, such trader shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that such excisable products shall, in addition to the accompanying document, be accompanied at all times while within the State by another document certifying in the manner prescribed that—

(a) the transaction involving the said excisable products has been declared to an officer prior to the dispatch of the said products from the other Member State, and

(b) the duty on the said excisable products has been either paid or secured in the State,

and, where the document referred to in this subsection does not for any reason accompany the said excisable products, it shall be a sufficient and lawful excuse for the said trader to show that he had informed the person sending or dispatching the said excisable products of the legal requirement for such a document.

(4) For the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this section, regulations under section 117 may, without prejudice to the generality of that section, make provision—

(a) in relation to the accompanying document, specifying the person responsible for drawing up the document and specifying its form and content and the procedures to be followed in relation to its completion, issue (including the number of copies to be issued and the persons to whom they are to be issued), receipt, certification and the specifying of any other conditions and requirements as appear to the Commissioners to be necessary for the proper operation of the provisions of the Directive, and

(b) in relation to the duty document, specifying any essential features of such document and providing for any necessary control requirements relating to the authentication of the said document.

(5) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or with any regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

112 Repayments of excise duty.

112.—(1) The Commissioners may, in respect of the duties of excise imposed by the provisions referred to in section 104 and subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose and subject to the provisions of subsection (2), repay any such duties paid on excisable products released for consumption in the State where the said excisable products—

(a) are intended for delivery for commercial purposes to another Member State, or

(b) are purchased by a person in another Member State from a State vendor.

(2) The Commissioners shall prescribe in regulations under section 117, the conditions to be fulfilled and the procedures to be followed by any person claiming repayment of excise duty under subsection (1), and, in particular, they shall—

(a) prescribe the form, manner and time of making an application for repayment of the duty,

(b) determine the nature of the evidence of payment of duty in the State to be provided with the said application,

(c) require evidence of payment or securing of the excise duty in the Member State to which the excisable products are to be delivered,

(d) require the use of an accompanying document, as provided for in section 111,

(e) determine the nature of the evidence of delivery of the excisable products from the State to be provided with the said application, and

(f) specify any other such conditions and requirements as appear to the Commissioners to be necessary.

(3) Any person who, in connection with a claim for repayment of excise duty under this section, delivers any incorrect return, statement or accounts or furnishes any incorrect information or who contravenes or fails to comply with any regulations under this section shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000, and any excise duty repaid shall be payable immediately by the said person.

113 Exemptions.

113.—(1) The duties of excise imposed by the provisions referred to in section 104 shall, subject to compliance with any conditions or limitations the Commissioners see fit to impose, not be charged or levied on excisable products delivered—

(a) under diplomatic arrangements in the State,

(b) to international organisations recognised as such by the State, and the members of such organisations based in the State, within the limits and under the conditions laid down by international conventions establishing such organisations or by other agreements, and

(c) for consumption under any agreement entered into between the State and a country other than a Member State where such agreement also provides for exemption from value-added tax.

(2) In any case where the Commissioners so decide and subject to any conditions they see fit to impose, effect may be given to the provisions of this section by means of a repayment of excise duty.

(3) Any person who, in connection with a claim for exemption from liability to excise duty under this section, delivers any incorrect return, statement or accounts or furnishes any incorrect information or who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000, and any excise duty in respect of which exemption was claimed shall be payable immediately by the said person.

114 Treatment of losses.

114.—(1) The Commissioners may, in respect of the duties of excise imposed by the provisions referred to in section 104 and, subject to compliance with such conditions as may be prescribed, remit in the prescribed manner, such duties on excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement which are shown to their satisfaction to have been lost—

(a) during production, processing or holding in the State or transportation to a destination in the State, or

(b) in the course of transportation to the State,

and that such loss was—

(i) due to fortuitous events or force majeure, or

(ii) a loss inherent in the nature of the excisable products in the course of their production, processing, holding or transportation.

(2) Losses, other than those referred to in subsection (1), and any shortages of excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement shall, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the losses or shortages occurred outside the State, be liable to excise duty at the rate in operation at the time such losses or shortages occurred, as established to the satisfaction of an officer, or at the time such losses or shortages came to the notice of an officer, and duty shall be payable immediately and shall be charged, levied and paid in the prescribed manner by the person authorised to produce, process, hold, transport, deliver or receive (as the case may be) such excisable products.

(3) Any person who, in connection with a claim for remission of excise duty under this section, delivers any incorrect return, statement or accounts or furnishes any incorrect information or who contravenes or fails to comply with any regulations under this section shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000, and any excise duty remitted shall be payable immediately by the said person.

115 Power to stop vehicles and detain excisable products.

115.—(1) Any person in charge of any vehicle or other conveyance, in or on which excisable products are being transported or in or on which it is reasonably believed by an officer that excisable products are being transported, shall stop such vehicle or other conveyance at the request of the said officer and shall produce to such officer any accompanying document, duty document or other document to which section 111 refers.

(2) Where a person in charge of any vehicle or other conveyance stops such a vehicle or other conveyance at the request of an officer, he shall allow the officer to carry out such searches of the vehicle or conveyance as appear to the said officer to be necessary to establish that any excisable products being transported therein correspond in every material respect with the description of any such excisable products contained in the documents referred to in subsection (1).

(3) Where, following the searches referred to in subsection (2), an officer discovers any material discrepancy between the excisable products being transported and those described in the said documents and the officer is not satisfied with any reasons tendered for such discrepancy and suspects that the said excisable products may, therefore, be liable to forfeiture or where the officer suspects that the said excisable products may be liable to forfeiture for any other reason, all of the products being transported together with any vehicle or other conveyance being made use of in the transportation of the said products, may be detained by the said officer until such enquiries or investigations as may be deemed necessary by the said officer or by another officer have been made for the purpose of determining to the satisfaction of either such officer whether or not the said products are liable to forfeiture.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), where excisable products are found in, on or in any manner attached to, any vehicle or other conveyance, the said vehicle or other conveyance shall be deemed to have been made use of in the conveyance of the said products.

(5) When a determination referred to in subsection (3) has been made in respect of any excisable products, or upon the expiry of a period of one month from the date on which the said products were detained under the said subsection, whichever is the earlier, the said products (together with any vehicle or other conveyance, detained with the said products by virtue of the said subsection) shall be seized as liable to forfeiture under the Customs Acts or the statutes which relate to duties of excise and any instrument relating to the duties of excise made under statute and the management thereof (as the case may be), or released.

(6) Any person who resists, obstructs or impedes an officer in the exercise of any power conferred on him by this section shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

116 Powers of entry and inspection, etc. of officers.

116.—(1) An officer may, at all reasonable times, enter premises in which excisable products are being, or are reasonably believed by the officer to be, produced, processed, held, stored or kept or in which any books, accounts or other documents or records relating or reasonably believed by the officer to relate to the production, processing, holding, storage, importation, purchase, packaging or putting up for sale, sale or disposal of excisable products are kept and may there—

(a) search for, inspect, take account of, and, without payment, take samples of, any excisable products or any materials, ingredients or other substances used or to be used in the manufacture of excisable products,

(b) require any person to produce all books, accounts or other documents or records relating to the production, processing, holding, storage, importation, purchase, packaging, sale or disposal of excisable products and, in the case of such information in a non-legible form (including such information in a computer), to produce it in a legible form, or to reproduce it in a permanent legible form, and

(c) search for, inspect, and take copies of or extracts from any books, accounts or other documents or records (including, in the case of any such information in a non-legible form, a copy of or extract from such information in a permanent legible form) relating or believed by the officer to relate to the production, processing, holding, storage, importation, purchase, packaging, sale or disposal of excisable products,

and such officer may remove and retain the said books, accounts or other documents or records for such period as may be reasonable for their further examination, and such person shall provide to such officer all facilities and assistance necessary for the exercise by such officer of any power conferred on him by this subsection.

(2) Where an officer enters any premises under subsection (1) and any excisable products or materials, ingredients or other substances used or to be used in the manufacture of excisable products are found therein, or any books, accounts or other documents or records specified in that subsection are produced or found therein, he may question any person found therein in relation to such excisable products or such materials, ingredients or substances or in relation to such books, accounts or other documents or records and any such person shall give to such officer all information required of him by such officer which is in his possession or procurement.

(3) Any person who fails without lawful and sufficient excuse to comply with any requirement under subsection (1), or who fails or refuses to give any information required of him under subsection (2), or who gives any such information which is false or misleading, or who resists, obstructs or impedes an officer in the exercise of any power conferred on him by this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be), of £1,000.

(4) Any excisable products in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section, or any goods which are packed with or used in concealing such products, shall be liable to forfeiture.

117 Regulations (Chapter II).

117.—(1) The Commissioners may, for the purpose of managing, receiving and collecting excise duty on the excisable products referred to in section 104, or for the protection of the revenue derived from such duties, make regulations.

(2) In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may make provision—

(a) governing the securing, paying, collecting, remitting and repaying of excise duty on excisable products;

(b) governing the conditions to be complied with by a person who acquires excisable products released for consumption in another Member State for importation into the State;

(c) governing the conditions to be complied with by a non-State vendor in relation to excisable products being dispatched by him or on his behalf to the State;

(d) governing the registration, and the conditions to be attached to such registration, of a registered trader, including the provision of security, the accounts and records to be kept and the control requirements to be complied with;

(e) governing the conditions to be imposed on a non-registered trader, including the provision of security, the form and content of the declaration to be given in advance of the dispatch of excisable products from another Member State under a duty-suspension arrangement and the control requirements to be complied with;

(f) governing the approval and the conditions to be attached to the approval of a tax representative, including the provision of security, the keeping of accounts and records and notification of the place of delivery of excisable products;

(g) specifying, in relation to an accompanying document, the obligations, requirements and procedures to be complied with by an authorised warehousekeeper in relation to—

(i) the drawing up, form, content and issue of the said document (including the number of copies to be issued and the persons to whom they are issued),

(ii) the form of endorsement which is to be accepted as evidence that excisable products have been received in another Member State, including whether such endorsement is to include certification of receipt by the authorities of particular Member States,

(iii) cases where evidence of receipt of excisable products in another Member State is not received, including the nature of any action to be taken within specified time limits;

(h) specifying, in relation to an accompanying document, the obligations, requirements and procedures to be complied with by persons resident or established in the State receiving excisable products under a duty-suspension arrangement from another Member State including the obligations, requirements and procedures to be complied with—

(i) on receipt of a copy or copies of the said document from another Member State, or

(ii) where a copy or copies of the said document are not received or where any such copy is incomplete or where it does not accompany excisable products received;

(i) specifying in relation to an accompanying document, the obligations, requirements and procedures to be complied with by persons—

(i) receiving or intending to receive from another Member State excisable products released for consumption in that Member State, or

(ii) dispatching or intending to dispatch to another Member State excisable products released for consumption in the State;

(j) specifying, in relation to a duty document, any essential features of such document and any necessary control requirements relating to the authentication of the said document;

(k) establishing rules and criteria in relation to excisable products released for consumption in another Member State and imported into the State by a private individual whereby such products may be regarded as being imported for commercial purposes;

(l) providing for the conditions to be attached to, and the procedures to be complied with, in any case where repayment of excise duty is claimed on the delivery for commercial purposes of excisable products on which excise duty has been paid in the State to another Member State or on the purchase of such products from a State vendor by a person in another Member State;

(m) governing any conditions to be complied with in relation to the remission of excise duty on losses of excisable products incurred during the production, processing, holding or transportation of such products under a duty-suspension arrangement, or on losses incurred in the course of transportation of such products to the State under a duty-suspension arrangement;

(n) requiring that excisable products be packaged, marked, or put up in sealed containers in order to facilitate identification of products being moved under duty-suspension; and

(o) requiring that excisable products released for consumption in the State be marked, stamped or made otherwise identifiable as being duty-paid.

(3) Regulations made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulations have been laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

118 Application of enactments (Chapter II).

118.—(1) The provisions of the Customs Acts and of any instrument relating to duties of customs made under statute, and not otherwise applied by this Chapter, shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to the provisions of this Chapter in respect of excisable products imported into the State as they apply in relation to duties of customs.

(2) The provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and of any instrument relating to duties of excise made under statute, and not otherwise applied by this Chapter, shall, with any necessary modifications apply in relation to the provisions of this Chapter in respect of excisable products produced in the State as they apply to duties of excise.

119 Commencement (Chapter II).

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

Chapter III Amusement Machine Licence Duty

120 Interpretation (Chapter III).

120.—(1) In this Chapter—

“officer” means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

“operator” includes owner, hirer or lessee of the machine, and any person responsible—

(a) to the owner, hirer or lessee for the management of the machine,

(b) for issuing or exchanging coins or tokens for use in playing such machine on the premises, and

and includes a party to any contract under which an amusement machine may or is required to be in the public place at that time;

“public place” means any place to which the public have access as of right or by permission or membership and whether subject to or free of charge and includes open air venues and any offices, courts, yards and gardens which are occupied together with and are within the curtilage, or in the immediate vicinity, of the public place where amusement machines are located.

(2) A machine is an amusement machine if—

(a) it is constructed or adapted for play of a game, and

(b) the player pays to play the machine by the insertion of a coin or token or card or in some other way, and

(c) the outcome of the game is determined by the action of the machine, whether or not provision is made for manipulation of the machine or use of skills by the player, and

(d) when played once and successfully by a player, affords that player no more than an opportunity to play again (once or more often) without paying to play.

(3) Except where the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied, and so certify in writing, that by reason of the inaccessibility to the public of the place in which an amusement machine is stored it cannot be played by the public, an amusement machine (including any machine which has ceased to be so stored) shall be deemed, for the purpose of this section, to be available for play notwithstanding that it is in a state, or so positioned that it cannot be played.

121 Waivers and exemptions.

121.—(1) A travelling circus or other travelling show shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter where—

(a) the playing of amusement machines is not the main activity or principal business at the show, and

(b) the amusement machines are not available at a place for play over a period exceeding 19 days and have not been so available during the preceding three months as part of the show when being held at such place or anywhere within a three mile radius of such place.

(2) The Revenue Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay or remit the duty imposed by section 123 where the sole purpose of the amusement machine is to provide rides for children.

122 Permit and licence procedure.

122.—(1) The Revenue Commissioners shall, upon application and payment of the duty imposed by this Chapter, grant to the applicant (in this section referred to as the holder)—

(a) an amusement machine permit for the various public places specified in the application, and shall, on application of the holder of an amusement machine permit, amend the permit to apply in respect of public places other than those specified in the permit at the time of first application, and

(b) the number of amusement machine licences applied for.

(2) Every amusement machine permit and every amusement machine licence granted under this section shall include such information and be in such form and manner as the Revenue Commissioners may from time to time approve.

123 Rates of duty.

123.—There shall be charged, levied and paid upon the grant of every amusement machine licence granted under section 122 an excise duty at the following rates:

(a) on a licence expressed to remain in force for a period not exceeding one year and until the 30th day of June in the year concerned, £100;

(b) on a licence expressed to be in force for a period not exceeding 3 months until the 15th day of September in the year concerned, £30.

124 Prohibition on play without permit and licence.

124.—An amusement machine shall not be made available for play in a public place unless—

(a) the operator has a permit granted under section 122 in respect of that public place, and

(b) there is a current licence, granted by the Revenue Commissioners under section 122, displayed at all times in a secure and conspicuous position on the machine.

125 Investigation, etc. by officers.

125.—An officer may, at all reasonable times, enter any public place in which amusement machines are, or are believed by such officer to be available for play and may there make such search and investigation as such officer shall think proper, and may inspect and take copies or extracts from any books or other documents or any information in the form of computerised data there found relating to, or believed by such officer to relate to, amusement machines.

126 Penalties (Chapter III).

126.—(1) An operator who contravenes section 124 (a) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £100 in respect of each such offence.

(2) An operator who contravenes section 124 (b) shall, in respect of each amusement machine made available for play without a licence, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to an excise penalty of £1,000 in respect of each such offence.

127 Forfeiture (Chapter III).

127.—Any machine in respect of which an offence was committed under section 126 (2), shall be liable to forfeiture.

128 Regulations (Chapter III).

128.—(1) The Revenue Commissioners may make regulations for securing the payment of the duty on amusement machine licences and generally for carrying the provisions of this Chapter in relation to such duty into effect.

(2) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with a regulation made under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of £1,000.

129 Applicability of excise statutes.

129.—The provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof and of any instrument relating to duties of excise made under statute shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to the duty imposed by this Chapter as they apply to duties of excise.

Chapter IV Registration and Taxation of Vehicles

130 Interpretation.

130.—In this Chapter, save where the context otherwise requires—

“ambulance” means a vehicle which is specially designed, constructed or adapted for the conveyance of injured or seriously ill persons to a hospital on stretchers and which is permanently fitted to accommodate and hold in position two or more standard stretchers;

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

“authorised person” means a person authorised under section 136;

“bus” means a vehicle which is designed, constructed or adapted for the conveyance of persons and so as to provide seating accommodation in permanent fixtures for more than 16 persons (inclusive of the driver) and for the purposes of this definition—

(a) each separate such seat in the vehicle which is 40 centimetres or more in width when measured lengthwise on the front of the seat shall be reckoned as providing seating accommodation for one person, and

(b) each continuous such seat (which expression includes 2 or more separate seats which are divided by such means as to allow them to be used as one continuous seat) shall be reckoned as providing seating accommodation for one person in respect of each 40 centimetres of the width of the seat when measured lengthwise on the front of the seat;

“category A vehicle” means a vehicle other than a motor-cycle or a listed vehicle—

(a) which is designed, constructed or adapted, solely or mainly for the carriage of the driver alone or the driver and one or more other persons, or

(b) which is of not more than 3 tonnes unladen weight and has, to the rear of the driver's seat, a roofed area—

(i) which is fitted with one or more side windows, or

(ii) in which openings, suitable for the fitting of side windows, are or were incorporated and are not closed and sealed in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed, or

(iii) in which one or more seats have been fitted or in which are provided fixtures or other devices for the purpose of fitting one or more seats, or

(iv) in which the floor is constructed or fitted otherwise than in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed;

“category B vehicle” means a vehicle (other than a category A vehicle, a motor-cycle or a listed vehicle) which is of not more than 3 tonnes unladen weight and which has a roofed area to the rear of the driver's seat the floor of which is less than 2 metres in length when measured in such manner as may be approved by the Commissioners:

Provided that, where a motor vehicle is of not more than 1.3 tonnes unladen weight and the roofed area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat has a load volume of more than 2 cubic metres when measured in such manner as the Commissioners may approve, the vehicle shall not be regarded as a category B vehicle;

“category C vehicle” means a vehicle other than a category A vehicle, a category B vehicle or a motor-cycle;

“certificate” means a certificate of registration issued under section 131 (5);

“the Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;

“conversion” means the modification of a category B vehicle in such a manner as to make it a category A vehicle or the modification of a category C vehicle in such manner as to make it a category A vehicle or a category B vehicle and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“cylinder capacity of an engine” means the cylinder capacity of an engine calculated in accordance with regulations for the time being in force under section 1 (3) of the Act of 1952, for the purpose of a rate of duty specified in the Schedule to that Act;

“deal” means offer for hire, lease or sale in the State one or more unregistered vehicles or converted vehicles prior to the entry of the prescribed particulars thereof in the register, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“listed vehicle” means one of the following vehicles, namely, an ambulance, a hearse, a bus, a special purpose vehicle, an agricultural tractor, a two-wheeled tractor, a fire engine, a fire-escape, a road sweeper, an invalid carriage, an armoured fighting vehicle, or a vehicle (not including a motor-cycle) which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to be more than 30 years old at the time of registration;

“licensing authority” means the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough which licenses a vehicle under section 1 of the Act of 1952;

“manufacture” means the making or assembling in the State of a vehicle and includes conversion and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“mechanically propelled vehicle” means a vehicle intended or adapted for propulsion by a mechanical means, including—

(a) a bicycle, tricycle or quadricycle propelled by an engine or motor or with an attachment for propelling it by mechanical power, whether or not the attachment is being used, a moped, a scooter and an autocycle, and

(b) a vehicle the means of propulsion of which is electrical or partly electrical and partly mechanical,

but not including a tramcar or other vehicle running on permanent rails or a vehicle as respects which the Commissioners are satisfied that it is designed or constructed for off-road use (other than racing vehicles, scrambling vehicles or other sporting vehicles);

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“motor-cycle” means a vehicle specified in paragraph (a) of the definition of “mechanically propelled vehicle”;

“owner” means—

(a) in relation to a vehicle (other than a vehicle specified in paragraph (b)), the person by whom the vehicle is kept,

(b) in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement or a lease, the person in possession of the vehicle under the agreement or lease;

“the Order of 1979” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 236) (Excise Duties on Motor Vehicles, Televisions and Gramophone Records) Order, 1979 (S.I. No. 57 of 1979);

“the Order of 1984” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 273) (Excise Duty on Motor-cycles) Order, 1984 (S.I. No. 354 of 1984);

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Commissioners under section 141;

“the register” means the register of vehicles established and maintained by the Commissioners under section 131 and “registered” and other cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“special purpose vehicle” means a vehicle which is designed, constructed or adapted solely or mainly for a purpose other than the carriage of persons or goods;

“vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle.

131 Registration of vehicles by Revenue Commissioners.

131.—(1) (a) The Commissioners shall establish and maintain a register of all vehicles in the State (in this Chapter referred to subsequently as “the register”).

(b) The Commissioners may enter in the register such particulars in relation to a vehicle and its ownership and connected matters as they consider appropriate.

(d) The register may be established and maintained in a form that is not legible if it is capable of being converted into a legible form.

(2) (a) The prescribed particulars of each vehicle that, on or after the 1st day of January, 1993, is not a registered vehicle shall be declared to the Commissioners for the purposes of registration.

(b) A vehicle in relation to which the prescribed particulars have been furnished under this subsection shall be deemed to be a registered vehicle.

(3) (a) Where a registered vehicle is converted, the prescribed particulars shall be declared to the Commissioners for the purpose of the entry in the register of particulars in relation to the conversion and the Commissioners may enter in the register such particulars in relation to the conversion as they consider appropriate.

(b) The owner of a vehicle which has been converted shall deliver to the Commissioners with the declaration under paragraph (a) in relation to the conversion the certificate in relation to the vehicle and the Commissioners shall enter on the certificate such particulars in relation to the conversion as they consider appropriate.

(4) A person shall not have in his possession or charge after the 1st day of January, 1993, an unregistered vehicle or a converted vehicle as respects which the prescribed particulars in relation to the conversion have not been declared to the Commissioners unless the person is an authorised person or the vehicle is the subject of an exemption under section 135 in force for the time being.

(5) The Commissioners shall assign in the prescribed manner a unique identification mark to each vehicle entered in the register and shall issue to the owner of the vehicle a certificate of registration in the prescribed form in respect of each such vehicle.

(6) (a) There shall be displayed in the prescribed manner on each registered vehicle in the State the identification mark assigned to it under subsection (5).

(b) An identification mark assigned to a vehicle under subsection (5) shall not be displayed on any other vehicle.

(c) A mark which purports to be but is not an identification mark assigned to a vehicle under subsection (5) shall not be displayed on a vehicle.

(d) A person (other than an authorised person) shall not have in his possession or charge a vehicle in respect of which there is a contravention of paragraph (a).

(e) A person shall not have in his possession or charge a vehicle in respect of which there is a contravention of paragraph (b) or (c).

(7) The Minister for the Environment shall have access to and may inspect and examine the register and—

(a) may take, or be supplied by the Commissioners with, such information from the register as he considers appropriate for the purpose of his functions, and

(b) take, or be supplied by the Commissioners with, copies of the register or of such extracts from the register as he considers appropriate for the purpose of his functions.

(8) The Roads Act, 1920, is hereby amended, with effect from the 1st day of January, 1993, by the substitution of the following section for section 6:

“6. (1) On the first application to a licensing authority for a licence in respect of a vehicle under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952, the authority shall not issue the licence unless and until the authority is satisfied that the vehicle has been registered in the register maintained under section 131 of the Finance Act, 1992.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a certificate of registration under the said section 131 or such other (if any) evidence as the Minister for the Environment may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, direct shall be sufficient evidence of the registration of the vehicle in the register aforesaid.”.

132 Charge of excise duty.

132.—(1) In addition to any other duty which may be chargeable, subject to the provisions of this Chapter and any regulations thereunder, with effect on and from the 1st day of January, 1993, a duty of excise, to be called vehicle registration tax, shall be charged, levied and paid at whichever of such rates as may stand specified for the time being by an Act of the Oireachtas is appropriate on—

(a) the registration of a vehicle, and

(b) a declaration under section 131 (3).

(2) Vehicle registration tax shall become due and be paid at the time of the registration of a vehicle or the making of the declaration aforesaid, as may be appropriate.

133 Chargeable value.

133.—(1) Where the rate of vehicle registration tax charged in relation to a category A vehicle or a category B vehicle is calculated by reference to the value of the vehicle, that value shall be taken to be the open market selling price of the vehicle at the time of the charging of the tax thereon.

(2) (a) For a new vehicle on sale in the State which is supplied by a manufacturer or sole wholesale distributor, such manufacturer or distributor shall declare to the Commissioners in the prescribed manner the price, inclusive of vehicle registration tax, which, in his opinion, a vehicle of that model and specification, including any enhancements or accessories fitted or attached thereto or supplied therewith by such manufacturer or distributor, might reasonably be expected to fetch on a first arm's length sale thereof in the open market in the State by retail.

(b) A price standing declared for the time being to the Commissioners in accordance with this subsection in relation to a new vehicle shall be deemed to be the open market selling price of each new vehicle of that model and specification:

Provided that where, at the time of its registration, a new vehicle has fitted or attached to it enhancements or accessories which have not been taken into account in the price declared under this subsection, an amount equal to the declared price, increased by the addition thereto of such amount as, in the opinion of the Commissioners, is the retail value of such enhancements or accessories, shall be deemed to be the open market selling price of the vehicle.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b), where a price is declared for a vehicle in accordance with this subsection which, in the opinion of the Commissioners, is higher or lower than the open market selling price at which a vehicle of a similar type and character is being offered for sale in the State at the time of such declaration, the open market selling price may be determined by the Commissioners for the purposes of this section.

(3) In this section—

“new vehicle” means a vehicle which is less than 3 months old when reckoned from its first entry into service or which has travelled less than 3,000 kilometres;

“open market selling price” means the price, inclusive of vehicle registration tax, which, in the opinion of the Commissioners, a vehicle, including any enhancements or accessories fitted or attached thereto or sold therewith, might reasonably be expected to fetch on a first arm's length sale thereof in the open market in the State by retail, subject to the provisions of subsection (2).

134 Permanent reliefs.

134.—(1) A vehicle may, subject to any conditions, restrictions or limitations prescribed by the Minister by regulations made by him under section 141 be registered without payment of vehicle registration tax if the vehicle is—

(a) the personal property of a private individual and is being brought permanently into the State by the individual when he is transferring his normal residence from a place outside the State to a place in the State,

(b) being brought permanently into the State as part of the capital goods and other equipment of a business undertaking which definitively ceases its activity outside the State and moves to the State in order to carry on a similar activity there,

(c) the personal property of a deceased person and is being brought permanently into the State by a person resident in the State, or a person or body of persons established in the State and engaged in a non-profit making activity, who either acquired by inheritance the ownership or beneficial ownership of such vehicle or is the personal representative resident in the State of the deceased person,

(d) given as a gift, in token of friendship or good will by an official body, public authority or group carrying on an activity in the public service or interest, which is located outside the State, to an official body, public authority or group carrying on an activity in the public service or interest, which is located in the State and is approved by the Commissioners for the purposes of this paragraph,

(e) for official use by an institution of the European Communities,

(f) for the personal use of officials or other members of the staff of an institution of the European Communities who transfer their residence to the State to take up a position there with an institution of the European Communities,

(g) supplied under diplomatic, consular or similar arrangements by virtue of the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Acts, 1967 and 1976, and orders made thereunder.

(2) Effect may be given to the provisions of subsection (1) by means of a repayment of vehicle registration tax subject to any conditions the Commissioners see fit to impose.

(3) The reliefs allowed under the Disabled Drivers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 340 of 1989), shall apply with any necessary modifications to vehicle registration tax.

(4) A vehicle may be registered, subject to such conditions, limitations and restrictions (if any) as the Commissioners may impose, without payment of vehicle registration tax and with the repayment of any such tax paid, where the Commissioners are satisfied that such vehicle is for use—

(i) in the establishment or maintenance of an international air service using or involving the use of an airport in the State,

(ii) in the establishment or maintenance of radio or meteorological services or other aids to air navigation ancillary to any such international air service, or

(iii) for experimental purposes in connection with the establishment or maintenance of any such international air service.

(5) Whenever the Minister so thinks proper, he may authorise the Commissioners to register a vehicle, subject to such conditions, limitations or restrictions (if any) as they may impose, either without payment of vehicle registration tax or on payment of the tax at less than the rate ordinarily chargeable or, where the said tax has been paid, to repay the tax in whole or in part.

135 Temporary exemption from registration.

135.—A vehicle which is temporarily brought into the State may be exempted by the Commissioners from the requirement to be registered, in such manner and subject to such conditions, restrictions and limitations as the Minister may prescribe by regulations made by him under section 141 if the vehicle is—

(a) brought into the State by a person established outside the State for his private or business use,

(b) brought into the State solely for the purpose of a competition, exhibition, show, demonstration, or similar purpose and is not intended to be sold or offered for sale in the State and is intended to be taken out of the State on the fulfilment of such purpose, or

(c) designed or specially adapted as professional equipment brought into the State by a person established outside the State for use exclusively by such person or under his personal supervision.

136 Authorisation of manufacturers, distributors and dealers and periodic payment of duty.

136.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 131, a person may be authorised by the Commissioners to manufacture, distribute, deal in, deliver, store, repair or modify unregistered vehicles and to convert registered vehicles.

(2) A person shall not be authorised under this section unless he appears to the Commissioners to satisfy such requirements as they may think fit to impose.

(3) The Commissioners may, at any time for reasonable cause (which shall be stated to the authorised person) and following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances, revoke an authorisation made under this section or vary its terms.

(4) An authorised person shall not deliver, send out or otherwise make available for use an unregistered vehicle other than to another authorised person.

(5) An authorised person shall not deliver, send out or otherwise make available for use a vehicle which, but for compliance with this subsection, would be unregistered, to a person who is not an authorised person without first—

(a) declaring the prescribed details of the vehicle to the Commissioners in accordance with section 131, and

(b) paying vehicle registration tax in respect of the registration of the vehicle.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) the Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions for securing payment as they may think fit to impose, permit payment of vehicle registration tax to be deferred to a day not later than the 15th day of the month following that in which the said tax is charged.

(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (4) and (5), the Commissioners may, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, allow an unregistered vehicle to be delivered by an authorised person for temporary display or exhibition.

(8) No provision of this section shall be deemed to permit the use of an unregistered vehicle on a public road.

137 Accountability for unregistered vehicles and converted vehicles.

137.—An authorised person shall account to the satisfaction of the Commissioners in the prescribed manner for all unregistered vehicles and converted vehicles received by him or manufactured by him.

138 Appeals.

138.—(1) Any person who has paid or who is liable to pay vehicle registration tax may appeal to the Commissioners against the amount of tax charged.

(2) An appeal under this section (referred to subsequently as “an appeal”) shall be in writing and shall set forth in detail the grounds of appeal.

(3) An appeal shall be lodged with the Commissioners within a period of 21 days from the date on which vehicle registration tax became due.

(4) An appeal shall be determined by the Commissioners within a period of 21 days from its lodgement with the Commissioners and, for that purpose, the vehicle concerned shall be produced to the Commissioners for inspection, if so required.

(5) The Commissioners shall notify an appellant in writing of the result of their determination of his appeal.

(6) Where the Commissioners determine on appeal that the amount due in respect of vehicle registration tax is less than the amount paid, they shall repay the amount overpaid to the appellant concerned.

(7) Where the Commissioners determine on appeal that the amount due in respect of vehicle registration tax is greater than the amount paid, the appellant concerned shall pay the amount underpaid within the prescribed time limit.

139 Offences and penalties.

139.—(1) It shall be an offence under this subsection for a person, in respect of a vehicle in the State—

(a) to make a declaration under section 131 which is false or in any material respect misleading or to allow any other person to make such a declaration on his behalf,

(b) to be in possession of a vehicle on which an identification mark referred to in section 131 (6) is not displayed or is not displayed in the prescribed manner,

(d) to destroy, mutilate, deface, alter, amend or in any other way interfere with a certificate without authorisation from the Commissioners,

(e) to fail to make a declaration under section 133 (2) (a), or to make it in the prescribed manner, when required to do so by the Commissioners, or

(f) to contravene or fail to comply, whether by act or omission, with any other provision of this Chapter or of regulations under section 141.

(2) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty under the law relating to excise of £1,000.

(3) It shall be an offence under this subsection for a person, in respect of a vehicle in the State—

(a) to be in possession of the vehicle if it is unregistered unless he is an authorised person or the vehicle is the subject of an exemption under section 135 for the time being in force and the vehicle is being used in accordance with any conditions, restrictions or limitations referred to in section 135,

(b) if the vehicle is the subject of an exemption under section 134, to be in possession of the vehicle other than in accordance with any conditions, restrictions or limitations referred to in section 134,

(d) to fail to pay any vehicle registration tax due by him,

(e) if the vehicle is an unregistered vehicle or a converted vehicle, to fail to account for it in accordance with section 137, or

(f) if the vehicle is an unregistered vehicle or a converted vehicle in relation to which particulars of the conversion have not been declared in accordance with section 131 or a converted vehicle in relation to which particulars of the conversion have been so declared but vehicle registration tax has not been paid on the declaration, to deliver the vehicle to a person other than an authorised person.

(4) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, any person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty under the law relating to excise of £1,000.

(5) A vehicle in respect of which an offence under subsection (3) was committed shall be liable to forfeiture.

140 Evidence.

140.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence under this Chapter in respect of failure to pay any amount of vehicle registration tax, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown that the vehicle registration tax in respect of the vehicle to which the charge relates has not been paid.

(2) A certificate or a document purporting to be signed by an officer of the Commissioners and to contain particulars extracted from the register or a document purporting to be signed by an officer of the Commissioners and to contain particulars extracted from any other records relating to vehicles shall, without proof of the signature of such officer, or that he was an officer of the Commissioners, be evidence, until the contrary is shown, of the particulars aforesaid stated in the certificate or document.

141 Regulations.

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