Finance Act 1997

Part I — Excise Duties

Alcoholic liquor duties

Ultra low sulphur diesel.

1

• (1) In section 5 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (spirits), for “£19.78” there shall be substituted “ £18.99 ”.

• (2) In Part II of the Table of rates of duty in Schedule 1 to that Act (wine or made-wine of a strength exceeding 22 per cent.), for “19.78” there shall be substituted “ 18.99 ”.

• (3) This section shall be deemed to have come into force at 6 o’clock in the evening of 26th November 1996.

Gaming duty to replace gaming licence duty.

2

• (1) For Part I of the Table of rates of duty in Schedule 1 to the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (wine and made-wine of a strength not exceeding 22 per cent.) there shall be substituted—

Description of wine or made-wine	Rates of duty per hectolitre
	£
Wine or made-wine of a strength not exceeding 4 per cent.	43.28
Wine or made-wine of a strength exceeding 4 per cent. but not exceeding 5.5 per cent.	59.51
Wine or made-wine of a strength exceeding 5.5 per cent. but not exceeding 15 per cent. and not being sparkling	140.44
Sparkling wine or sparkling made-wine of a strength exceeding 5.5 per cent. but less than 5 per cent.	195.63
Sparkling wine or sparkling made-wine of a strength of 8.5 per cent. or of a strength exceeding 8.5 per cent. but not exceeding 15 per cent.	200.64
Wine or made-wine of a strength exceeding 15 per cent. but not exceeding 22 per cent.	187.24

• (2) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st January 1997.

Charge to tax where different rates apply.

3

• (1) In subsection (1A) of section 62 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (rates of excise duty on cider)—

• (a) in paragraph (a), after “exceeding 7.5 per cent.” there shall be inserted “ which is not sparkling cider ”; and

• (b) immediately before the word “and” at the end of that paragraph there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(aa) £36.45 per hectolitre in the case of sparkling cider of a strength exceeding 5.5 per cent.;

.

• (2) After subsection (6) of that section there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(7) References in this section to making cider shall be construed as including references to producing sparkling cider by rendering cider sparkling; and references in this section to cider made in the United Kingdom, to makers of cider and to making cider for sale shall be construed accordingly.

• (3) After that section there shall be inserted the following section—

(62A) (1) This section applies for the purposes of section 62 above. (2) Cider which is for the time being in a closed bottle is sparkling if, due to the presence of carbon dioxide, the pressure in the bottle, measured at a temperature of 20 degrees C, is not less than 3 bars in excess of atmospheric pressure. (3) Cider which is for the time being in a closed bottle is sparkling regardless of the pressure in the bottle if the bottle has a mushroom-shaped stopper (whether solid or hollow) held in place by a tie or fastening. (4) Cider which is not for the time being in a closed container is sparkling if it has characteristics similar to those of cider which has been removed from a closed bottle and which, before removal, fell within subsection (2) above. (5) Cider shall be regarded as having been rendered sparkling if, as a result of aeration, fermentation or any other process, it either— (a) falls within subsection (2) above; or (b) takes on characteristics similar to those of cider which has been removed from a closed bottle and which, before removal, fell within subsection (2) above. (6) Cider which has not previously been rendered sparkling by virtue of subsection (5) above shall be regarded as having been rendered sparkling if it is transferred into a closed bottle which has a mushroom-shaped stopper (whether solid or hollow) held in place by a tie or fastening. (7) Cider which is in a closed bottle and has not previously been rendered sparkling by virtue of subsection (5) or (6) above shall be regarded as having been rendered sparkling if the stopper of its bottle is exchanged for a stopper of a kind mentioned in subsection (6) above.

• (4) In section 64 of that Act (remission or repayment of duty on spoilt cider), after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(1A) In subsection (1) above the references to a maker of cider include references to any person who is taken for the purposes of section 62 above to be a maker of cider.

• (5) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st January 1997.

• (6) Any order or regulations made under section 62 or 64 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 before 1st January 1997—

• (a) shall have effect (but only if and for so long as the order or regulations would be in force apart from this subsection) as if the amendments made to that Act by this section had been made before the making of the order or regulations, and

• (b) shall be deemed at all times on or after that date so to have had effect.

Cider labelled as strong cider

4

• (1) After the section 62A inserted into the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 by section 3 above there shall be inserted the following section—

(62B) (1) For the purposes of this Act, any liquor which would apart from this section be standard cider and which— (a) is in an up-labelled container, or (b) has, at any time after 31st December 1996 when it was in the United Kingdom, been in an up-labelled container, shall be deemed to be strong cider, and not standard cider. (2) Accordingly, references in this Act to making cider include references to— (a) putting standard cider in an up-labelled container; or (b) causing a container in which there is standard cider to be up-labelled. (3) Where, by virtue of this section, any duty is charged under section 62 above on any cider, a rebate shall be allowed in respect of the amount of any duty charged on that cider under that section otherwise than by virtue of this section. (4) For the purposes of this section— (a) “standard cider” means cider which is not sparkling and is of a strength not exceeding 7.5 per cent.; and (b) “strong cider” means cider which is not sparkling and is of a strength exceeding 7.5 per cent. (5) For the purposes of this section a container is up-labelled if there is anything on— (a) the container itself, (b) a label or leaflet attached to or used with the container, or (c) any packaging used for or in association with the container, which states or tends to suggest that the strength of any liquor in that container falls within the strong cider strength range. (6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above, a strength falls within the strong cider strength range if it exceeds 7.5 per cent. but is less than 8.5 per cent.

• (2) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st January 1997.

Cider labelled as made-wine

5

• (1) After section 55A of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 there shall be inserted the following section—

(55B) (1) For the purposes of this Act, any liquor which would apart from this section be cider and which— (a) is in an up-labelled container, or (b) has, at any time after 31st December 1996 when it was in the United Kingdom, been in an up-labelled container, shall be deemed to be made-wine, and not cider. (2) Accordingly, references in this Act to producing made-wine include references to— (a) putting cider in an up-labelled container; or (b) causing a container in which there is cider to be up-labelled. (3) For the purposes of this Act, where any liquor is deemed by this section to be made-wine, it shall be deemed— (a) if it is in an up-labelled container, to be made-wine of the strength that the labelling for the container states or tends to suggest; and (b) if it is no longer in an up-labelled container, to be made-wine of the strength stated or suggested by the labelling for the up-labelled container in which it was contained when it was first deemed b this section to be made-wine. (4) Subsection (3)(a) above has effect subject to any provision that may be made by regulations under section 2(3) above. (5) Where, by virtue of this section, any duty is charged under section 55 above on any liquor, a rebate shall be allowed in respect of the amount of any duty charged on that liquor under section 62 below. (6) For the purposes of this section a container is up-labelled if the labelling for the container states or tends to suggest that the strength of any liquor in that container is or exceeds 8.5 per cent. (7) In this section references to the labelling for any container are references to anything on— (a) the container itself, (b) a label or leaflet attached to or used with the container, or (c) any packaging used for or in association with the container.

• (2) In section 1 of that Act (interpretation)—

• (a) in subsection (5) (meaning of “made-wine”), after “subsection (10)” there shall be inserted “ and section 55B(1) ”; and

• (b) in subsection (6) (meaning of “cider”), after “means” there shall be inserted “ , subject to section 55B(1) below, ”.

• (3) In section 2(3A) of that Act (regulations may provide for duty to be charged by reference to strengths shown on bottle labels)—

• (a) after the word “beer,”, in the first place where it occurs, there shall be inserted “ cider, ”; and

• (b) for the words “spirits, beer, wine or made-wine”, in the second place where they occur, there shall be substituted “ liquor in that bottle or other container ”.

• (4) In section 56(1)(c) of that Act (restriction on use of wine in production of made-wine), after “of wine” there shall be inserted “ or cider ”.

• (5) Subsections (1) and (2) above shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st January 1997.

Hydrocarbon oil duties

Rates of hydrocarbon oil duties and of rebates

6

• (1) In section 6(1) of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979, for “£0.3912” (duty on light oil) and “£0.3430” (duty on heavy oil) there shall be substituted “ £0.4168 ” and “ £0.3686 ”, respectively.

• (2) In section 8(3) of that Act (duty on road fuel gas), for “£0.2817” there shall be substituted “ £0.2113 ”.

• (3) In section 11(1) of that Act (rebate on heavy oil), for “£0.0181” (fuel oil) and “£0.0233” (gas oil) there shall be substituted “ £0.0194 ” and “ £0.0250 ”, respectively.

• (4) In section 14(1) of that Act (rebate on light oil for use as furnace fuel), for “£0.0181” there shall be substituted “ £0.0194 ”.

• (5) This section shall be deemed to have come into force at 6 o’clock in the evening of 26th November 1996.

Ultra low sulphur diesel

7

• (1) In section 1 of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 (definitions of oil)—

• (a) in subsection (1), for “(2) to (4)” there shall be substituted “ (2) to (6) ”; and

• (b) after subsection (4) there shall be inserted the following subsections—

(5) “Gas oil” means heavy oil of which not more than 50 per cent. by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 240° C and of which more than 50 per cent. by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 340° C. (6) “Ultra low sulphur diesel” means gas oil the sulphur content of which does not exceed 0.005 per cent. by weight or is nil.

• (2) In section 6 of that Act (excise duty on hydrocarbon oil), in subsection (1) (as amended by section 6 above), for the words from “the rate of £0.4168” to the end of the subsection there shall be substituted “ the rates specified in subsection (1A) below. ”

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) In subsection (3) of that section, for “that subsection” there shall be substituted “ subsection (1A) above ”.

• (5) In section 11(1) of that Act (rebate on heavy oil)—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) in paragraph (c), for “other than fuel oil and” there shall be substituted “ which is neither fuel oil nor ”.

• (6) In section 13AA(6) of that Act (rate for rebated gas oil), for “section 6(1) above in the case of heavy oil” there shall be substituted “ section 6(1A) above in the case of heavy oil which is not ultra low sulphur diesel, ”.

• (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (8) In section 27(1) of that Act (interpretation)—

• (a) after the definition of “aviation gasoline” there shall be inserted the following definition—

• “gas oil” has the meaning given by section 1(5) above;

and

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (9) In Schedule 2A to that Act (mixing of heavy oil)—

• (a) in paragraph 4(a), after “section 11(1)(b)” there shall be inserted “ or (ba) ”;

• (b) in paragraph 6(b), after “section 11(1)(b)” there shall be inserted “ or (ba) ”;

• (c) after paragraph 6 there shall be inserted—

(6A) A mixture of heavy oils is produced in contravention of this paragraph if such a mixture is produced by mixing— (a) ultra low sulphur diesel in respect of which a rebate has been allowed under section 11(1)(ba) of this Act; and (b) gas oil in respect of which a rebate has been allowed under section 11(1)(b) of this Act.

;

• (d) in paragraph 7 (complex mixtures of heavy oils), for the words from “if such a mixture” to the end of the paragraph there shall be substituted “ if the production of a mixture of two of the components of that mixture is a contravention of any of paragraphs 4 to 6A above. ”;

• (e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (f) in paragraph 9(2) (rate for heavy oil), for “in the case of heavy oil by section 6(1) of this Act” there shall be substituted “ by section 6(1A) of this Act in the case of heavy oil which is not ultra low sulphur diesel ”; and

• (g) in paragraph 11 (interpretation), for “ “fuel oil” and “gas oil” have the same meanings ” there shall be substituted “ “fuel oil” has the same meaning ”.

• (10) This section shall come into force on such day as the Commissioners of Customs and Excise may by order made by statutory instrument appoint.

Tobacco products duty

Rates of tobacco products duty

8

• (1) For the Table of rates of duty in Schedule 1 to the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 there shall be substituted—

1. Cigarettes	An amount equal to 21 per cent. of the retail price plus £65.97 per thousand cigarettes.
2. Cigars	£98.02 per kilogram.
3. Hand-rolling tobacco	£87.74 per kilogram.
4. Other smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco	£43.10 per kilogram.

• (2) This section shall be deemed to have come into force at 6 o’clock in the evening of 26th November 1996.

Air passenger duty

Rates of air passenger duty

9

• (1) In subsection (2) of section 30 of the Finance Act 1994 (rate of duty for journeys ending in the UK, another EEA State or certain territories for whose external relations either the UK or another member State is responsible), for “£5” there shall be substituted “ £10 ”.

• (2) In subsection (4) of that section (rate of duty in other cases), for “£10” there shall be substituted “ £20 ”.

• (3) This section applies in cases where, in accordance with section 28(2)(a) of that Act (duty becomes due when aircraft first takes off on passenger’s flight), duty becomes due on or after 1st November 1997.

Gaming duty

Gaming duty to replace gaming licence duty

10

• (1) A gaming licence shall not be required under section 13 of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 (gaming licence duty) for any gaming on or after 1st October 1997; but a duty of excise (to be known as “gaming duty”) shall be charged in accordance with section 11 below on any premises in the United Kingdom where gaming to which this section applies (“dutiable gaming”) takes place on or after that date.

• (2) Subject as follows, this section applies to—

• (a) casino games, and

• (b) equal chance gaming.

• (3) This section does not apply to any lawful gaming which is gaming to which any of the following provisions applies and takes place in accordance with the requirements of that provision, that is to say—

• (a) Part 1 of Schedule 15 to the Gambling Act 2005 or Article 55(2) of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (private parties);

• (b) section 279 of that Act (premises licensed for the sale of liquor);

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (d) ... Article 126 of that Order (gaming at entertainments not held for private gain);

• (e) Part 13 of that Act or Article 77, 153 or 154 of that Order (amusements with prizes).

• (3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3AA) This section does not apply to the playing of a game in respect of which—

• (a) bingo duty or lottery duty is chargeable, or would be chargeable but for an express exception, or

• (b) machine games duty is chargeable.

• (3B) This section does not apply to any lawful gaming which consists of games played in Great Britain at an entertainment in respect of which all the payments made by the players (whether by way of entrance fee or stake or otherwise) are, after making permissible deductions from those payments, applied for a purpose other than that of private gain (within the meaning of the Gambling Act 2005).

• (3C) For the purposes of subsection (3B), only the following deductions are permissible deductions—

• (a) deductions on account of reasonable expenses incurred in organising or providing the facilities for the purposes of the games, and

• (b) deductions for the provision of prizes or awards in respect of the games.