No. 3/1933:

THE TOBACCO GROWING REGULATIONS, 1933.

THE TOBACCO GROWING REGULATIONS, 1933.

WHEREAS by virtue of Section 3 of the Finance Act, 1908, the Excise Transfer Order, 1909, and the Revenue Commissioners Order, 1923, the Revenue Commissioners are empowered to make the Regulations hereinafter contained:

NOW, THE REVENUE COMMISSIONERS, in exercise of the powers conferred on them in manner aforesaid, and of every and any other power them in this behalf enabling, do hereby make the following regulations, to be observed on and after the 1st day of March, 1933, that is to say:—

PART I. As to Licences, Entry and Duty.

1.—A person may not sow the seed of the tobacco plant or grow tobacco in Saorstát Eireann or cure tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann without having in force an Excise licence for the purpose, and except upon land and premises which have been approved by the Commissioners and have been duly entered by that person.

2.—The Commissioners may refuse to grant a licence for any land or premises on or in which from their situation with respect to the premises of a manufacturer of tobacco, they think it inexpedient to allow the growing or curing of tobacco.

3.—A person requiring a licence shall obtain from the proper Officer a form of application and shall furnish in the form the particulars thereby required, and shall return the form duly filled up and signed by him to the Officer.

4.—The licence shall whenever issued be granted only on payment in full of the duty chargeable thereon, and shall expire on the last day of February in each year.

5.—Every grower and every curer shall in each year before making use of any land, shed or place for growing, curing, or storing any tobacco make entry in the prescribed form of the land upon which the tobacco is to be grown, and of every shed or place to be used by him in connection with the growing or curing or storing of tobacco specifying the purpose for which each such shed or place is to be used, and the entry shall not be withdrawn while any tobacco remains on or in the entered land, shed or place. The grower or curer shall sign the entry, and deliver it to the proper Officer.

6.—Every grower before commencing to grow any tobacco and every curer before receiving any tobacco for curing shall give security in such sum and in such form as the Commissioners may require that he will observe and comply with all regulations made by the Commissioners in relation to the tobacco. The security to be given by a grower shall also be a security for the due removal of all tobacco grown by him to the premises of a curer or for otherwise accounting for the same.

7.—Every grower who cures tobacco grown by himself and every curer must produce to the proper Officer for preliminary weighing all tobacco grown by him or received by him for curing in any year as soon as it is in a condition to be weighed and not later than the first day of January following the cutting or gathering of the tobacco or such subsequent day as the Commissioners may allow. Each package in which the tobacco is produced must be distinguished by an identification mark and number, and the weight ascertained at the preliminary weighing shall be used for the purpose of raising a presumptive charge of duty in respect of the total quantity of the tobacco produced.

8.—The duty on the tobacco shall become chargeable as soon as it is in a fit state for use by a manufacturer of tobacco and an account of the tobacco shall then be taken, but in the event of there being a deficiency, not accounted for by a legitimate cause, in the weight then ascertained as compared with the weight ascertained on the preliminary weighing the weight ascertained on the preliminary weighing shall, subject to such allowance for loss of weight during the process of curing as the Commissioners may allow, be deemed to be the weight of the tobacco chargeable with duty.

PART II. As to the growing, curing, and removal of Tobacco.

9.—A book in the prescribed form, called a Tobacco Entry Book, shall be delivered by the proper Officer to every grower and every curer of tobacco, and the following provisions shall have effect in relation to the book, and to the entries to be made therein:—

(a) The grower or curer shall keep the book upon some part of his entered premises at all times ready for the inspection of any Officer, and shall permit any Officer at any time to inspect the same and make extracts therefrom, and shall, when the book is filled up, or at any time if demanded, return it to the proper Officer.

(b) The grower shall make the following entries in his Tobacco Entry Book:—

(i) He shall enter separately on the day of planting any tobacco, the date of the planting, the variety of the tobacco planted, and the area of the land planted, and if more than one variety is planted, the area of the land planted with each variety.

(ii) He shall on the day of the receipt from, or the removal to, the premises of another licensed grower of any tobacco plants enter the name and address of the grower from whom the plants are received or to whom the plants are removed, the variety or varieties of the tobacco, the number of plants of each variety and the date upon which the plants are received or removed.

(iii) He shall not later than the date on which the cutting or gathering of tobacco is commenced enter the date of such commencement; and

(iv) He shall enter separately on the day of removing any tobacco to a curer's premises, the date of removal, the situation of the premises to which the tobacco is removed, and the actual weight of the tobacco removed if it is sufficiently cured to be handled in bulk, or the estimated weight of the tobacco removed if it is in a green state.

(c) A curer shall enter in his Tobacco Entry Book the date of the receipt by him of any tobacco for curing, the condition of the tobacco when received, the name and address of the grower, and the weight of the tobacco, or in the case of tobacco in a green state, the estimated weight thereof, and shall make the entry before the expiration of the day upon which the tobacco is received.

(d) The grower or curer shall at the time of making any entry, insert the date when the entry is made; and shall not cancel, obliterate or alter any entry in the book or make any entry therein which is untrue in any particular.

10.—A grower shall not receive any tobacco other than plants for replanting from another grower except with the permission of the Commissioners and under such conditions as they may prescribe, and no tobacco shall be removed from the land where it has been grown without the permission of the Commissioners except for replanting in the entered lands of a grower or to an entered curing shed on the grower's premises, or to the entered premises of a curer.

11.—All tobacco received by a curer shall be produced to the Officer in charge of the curer's entered premises on his next visit, and shall be kept separate and untouched for twenty-four hours after its receipt if not earlier inspected by an Officer.

12.—A curer shall keep the tobacco of each grower separate from that of any other grower, and the tobacco of each grower shall be distinguished by a card or board on which the grower's name is legibly written.

13.—All tobacco sufficiently cured to be handled in bulk which a grower desires to remove to the entered premises of a curer shall prior to removal be packed and weighed in the presence of the proper Officer, and every grower and every curer shall twenty-four hours at least before commencing to remove, weigh, or pack any tobacco, give to the proper Officer notice in writing of his intention to do so.

14.—All tobacco intended to be removed (except tobacco which on being cut and gathered is removed to a curing shed of the grower on the same premises or is removed in a green state to the entered premises of a curer) must be packed, except in the case of a remnant, into packages each of the gross weight of not less than thirty pounds, and each package must be legibly marked in ink or oil colour with a progressive number commencing with No. 1 for each year, and also with the year of growing, the grower's name, and the name of the farm or place where the tobacco was grown.

15.—All tobacco shall be finally packed and weighed in the presence of the Officer not later than the thirtieth day of June in the year following that in which it was grown, or such subsequent date as the Commissioners may allow, and shall immediately after the taking of the final account be removed to a bonded warehouse, or to a ship or other conveyance for exportation, unless the tobacco is deposited upon the premises of a grower or curer in a store which has been approved by the Commissioners as a bonded warehouse for the deposit of tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann. Duty shall be paid immediately after the taking of the final account on any tobacco not removed or deposited in a bonded warehouse as herein provided and any such tobacco shall, after payment of the duty chargeable thereon, be removed to the entered premises of a manufacturer of tobacco.

16.—All tobacco plants removed by one grower to another grower and all tobacco in a green state removed to the entered premises of a curer shall be accompanied by a certificate in the prescribed form signed by or on behalf of the grower, specifying—

(a) The name of the grower and the place where the tobacco was grown.

(b) The number of plants of each variety in the case of removal to another grower.

(c) The estimated weight in the case of removal to a curer and

(d) the address of the grower's or curer's premises to which the plants or tobacco are to be removed.

All other tobacco shall on removal be accompanied by a permit granted by the proper Officer.

17.—A grower or curer shall deliver all permits and certificates accompanying tobacco plants or tobacco received by him to the Officer who first visits his premises after the receipt of the plants or tobacco.

18.—Except as hereinbefore provided, leaf or unmanufactured tobacco may not, unless upon payment of duty, be removed from the premises of a grower or curer otherwise than to a bonded warehouse or to a ship or other conveyance for exportation, and upon the prescribed security being given. Leaf or unmanufactured tobacco on which duty has been paid may not be removed from the premises of a grower or curer otherwise than to the entered premises of a manufacturer of tobacco.

PART III. Supplementary.

19.—Every grower and every curer shall render all necessary assistance to the Officers in taking account of tobacco in his possession, and shall, if so required by the Commissioners, provide to their satisfaction a room or building capable of being secured with a Revenue lock, in which to store tobacco when undergoing any process of fermentation, or when it has been cured or packed.

20.—Every curer of tobacco (whether such tobacco has been grown by himself or not) shall provide a beam and just scales and weights, or a correct weighing machine, capable of weighing the largest package of tobacco which may be packed on his premises.

21.—Every grower shall, within seven days after the final weighing of the tobacco of any year's growing, make a return in the prescribed form of the area and situation of the land planted by him with tobacco, the variety or varieties grown, the area of the land used for each variety, and the net weight of tobacco of each variety produced. He shall date and sign the return, and deliver it to the proper Officer.

22.—Every curer shall, within seven days of the final weighing of the tobacco of any year's growing, make a return in the prescribed form of the quantities and varieties of the tobacco received by him from each grower and cured by him. He shall date and sign the return, and deliver it to the proper Officer.

23.—Every grower and every curer shall destroy upon his entered premises all tobacco stalks and stems, and all tobacco unfit for curing, or for use in the manufacture of tobacco in such a manner, and at such time or times as the Commissioners shall direct.

24.—Tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann may, without payment of duty, be received by a manufacturer from a bonded warehouse, accompanied by a permit duly granted by the proper Officer.

25.—The provisions contained in Sections two, three, four, and five, and all regulations made under Section eleven of the Manufactured Tobacco Act, 1863, which apply to the manufacture or conversion of unmanufactured tobacco subject to the duty of Customs into Cavendish or Negrohead, shall also apply, except as regards the payment of duty, to the manufacture or conversion into Cavendish or Negrohead of unmanufactured tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann.

26.—Sections one hundred and forty-five and one hundred and forty-nine of the Spirits Act, 1880, shall apply to leaf or unmanufactured tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann, and to persons carrying, removing, buying, receiving, or having in possession such tobacco as they apply to spirits, and to persons carrying, removing, buying, receiving, or having in possession spirits, and for the purpose of this regulation the said sections shall be read as referring to leaf or unmanufactured tobacco instead of spirits and as if in the said section one hundred and forty-five the words "leaf or unmanufactured tobacco" were substituted for the word "spirits," and the words "three pounds" were substituted for the words "one gallon of the same denomination for the same person."

27.—Nothing in these Regulations shall extend to prevent or hinder any person from sowing the seed of the tobacco plant, or supplying or planting tobacco plants solely for botanical, scientific, or ornamental purposes, in any nursery or private garden so long as the area of the land sown or planted does not exceed one pole in any one place or garden.

28.—In these Regulations each of the following terms shall have the meaning hereby assigned to it, unless there is something in the subject or context inconsistent with such meaning:—

"Commissioners" means the Revenue Commissioners.

"Officer" means Officer of Customs and Excise.

"Proper Officer" means the Officer of the station in which the premises of the grower or curer, or intended grower or curer, are situate.

"Prescribed" means prescribed by the Commissioners.

"Growing" and "Grown" include respectively "Cultivation" and " Cultivated."

"Curing" includes wilting, drying, fermenting, and any process for rendering tobacco fit for manufacture.

"Grower" means a person growing tobacco, and includes a person curing tobacco of his own growing.

"Curer" means a person curing tobacco not of his own growing.

"Shed" includes any house, building, room, outhouse, or structure.

"Green tobacco" means tobacco before it has been subjected to any process of curing other than wilting.

"Bonded Warehouse" means a warehouse approved by the Commissioners for the deposit of tobacco without payment of duty.

29.—The Interpretation Act, 1889, shall apply to the interpretation of these Regulations in like manner as that Act applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas passed before the first day of January, 1924.

30.—The Regulations of the twenty-third day of January, 1911, in relation to tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann are hereby annulled as from the first day of March, 1933.

31.—These Regulations may be cited as the Tobacco Growing Regulations, 1933.

By Order of the Revenue Commissioners,

M. V. NOLAN.

Dublin Castle.

Dated the 14th day of January, 1933.

NOTE.—A penalty of £50 is incurred for the infringement of any of the foregoing Regulations, and the effect of the application of the sections of the Spirits Act, 1880, mentioned in Regulation No. 26, to tobacco grown in Saorstát Eireann is that any person found removing tobacco exceeding three pounds in weight and who does not produce a permit or certificate authorising the removal may be arrested and is liable to a fine of £100, the tobacco being forfeited, and any person knowingly buying, receiving, or having in his possession any tobacco after it has been removed from any place where it ought to have been charged and before the duty payable thereon has been charged or paid will forfeit the tobacco and incur a penalty.