No. 35/1941:

CIDER DUTY (No. 2) REGULATIONS, 1940.

CIDER DUTY (No. 2) REGULATIONS, 1940.

Whereas by virtue of Section 10 of the Finance Act, 1940 (No. 14 of 1940), the Revenue Commissioners are empowered to make the Regulations hereinafter contained :

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

1.—(1) No person shall carry on business as a manufacturer for sale of cider at any premises unless he is the holder of an excise licence authorising him to carry on the business at those premises :

Provided that the provisions of this Regulation shall not apply in the case of any person in respect of whom the Commissioners are satisfied that his main source of livelihood is the cultivation of land for his own profit and that he does not regularly carry on business as a seller of cider.

(2) Where any person carries on the business of a manufacturer for sale of cider at more than one set of premises he shall not by reason thereof be required to take out more than one licence.

(3) A licence for the purpose of these Regulations :—

(a) shall be in the approved form ;

(b) shall be an annual licence and shall expire on the eighth day of May next following the date on which it is issued ;

(c) may on payment of the proper duty charged thereon be granted by an Officer authorised by the Commissioners to grant the same.

2.—(1) No person shall carry on business as a manufacturer for sale of cider at any premises unless those premises are registered for the purpose in accordance with these Regulations, or unless, in the case of a person holding a licence in accordance with these Regulations, those premises are his principal place of business.

For the purpose of the provisions of this Regulation the principal place of business of a manufacturer shall be deemed to be :—

(a) if the manufacturer is a limited company, the registered office of the company ;

(b) in the case of any other manufacturer, such of his premises as shall be decided by the Commissioners to be his principal place of business.

(2) No person, being a manufacturer for sale of cider, shall use any premises for the purpose of storing therein cider which has not been entered for duty or of further manufacturing therein cider manufactured or partly manufactured elsewhere by him or by another manufacturer unless those premises are registered for the purpose in accordance with these Regulations, or unless, in the case of a person holding a licence issued in accordance with these Regulations, those premises are his principal place of business.

(3) Every person whose premises are required to be registered as aforesaid shall, before commencing to carry on business as a manufacturer of cider at the premises or to use the premises for any of the purposes aforesaid, as the case may be, deliver to the proper Officer an application for registration in the approved form.

(4) The Officer by whom any such application is received shall register the premises of the applicant in the prescribed manner and shall issue to the applicant a certificate of registration in the approved form.

(5) Where a certificate of registration is issued subject to any conditions, it shall be the duty of the person to whom it is issued to comply with those conditions.

3.—(1) Subject as is hereinafter provided, every manufacturer for sale of cider (hereinafter referred to as " a manufacturer ") shall keep in respect of his principal place of business and of every set of premises registered under these Regulations an entry book in the approved form :

Provided always that the Commissioners may, if they are satisfied that they can do so without prejudice to the interests of the Revenue, exempt any manufacturer or class of manufacturers from the duty of complying with this Regulation.

(2) Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained with respect to deferred payment of duty, the following provisions shall have effect with respect to the entry book required to be kept as aforesaid and to the entries to be made therein :—

(a) The manufacturer shall keep the book in some part of the premises at which the business is carried on (hereinafter referred to as " the premises ") so that it shall at all reasonable times be available for inspection by any Officer.

(b) The manufacturer shall enter in the proper columns of the book the quantity of cider removed from the premises for home consumption or sold on the premises for consumption thereon :

Provided always that in the case of cider intended to be sold on draught the whole quantity of saleable liquor contained in the cask or other receptacle from which the cider is drawn shall, for the purpose of these Regulations, be deemed to be sold on the date when the first drawing-off from the cask or other receptacle takes place.

(c) The manufacturer shall enter in the book the quantity of cider, whether manufactured by himself or another manufacturer, received at the premises without payment of duty and the name of the person from whom and the address of the premises from which received.

(d) The manufacturer shall keep in the book a separate account in which he shall enter particulars of all cider removed without payment of duty from the premises for the purpose of being exported or shipped as ships' stores, or removed without payment of duty to the premises of an authorised exporter, to other premises belonging to the manufacturer, or to the premises of another manufacturer, and that account shall show in respect of each consignment :—

(i) the date of removal, the number of casks or cases removed, the quantity of cider in each cask or case, and the name and address of the person to whom despatched ; and

(ii) where the cider is intended to be exported or shipped as stores, the commercial description of the goods, the distinguishing mark or numbers on the casks or cases, the name of the exporter or shipper, the name of the ship by which the goods are to be exported or in which they are to be used as stores or particulars of the exporting conveyance, the port or place of exportation or shipment and, in the case of cider intended to be exported, the country of final destination.

(e) The manufacturer shall make any entry required to be made as aforesaid not later than noon on the day following the date of the transaction to be entered and shall at the time of making any entry insert the date on which it is made.

(f) The manufacturer shall not cancel, obliterate, or alter any entry in the book or make therein an entry which is untrue in any particular.

(g) The manufacturer shall forthwith after the end of each week add together the several items of the quantities so sold or removed as aforesaid in each day in that week and show at the foot of the account in imperial gallons the total quantities for the week and the amount of the duty payable in respect of those quantities.

(h) If the manufacturer claims that any cider which has been entered for duty in any week has, after being so entered but before being delivered to a purchaser or at the premises of a purchaser, been accidentally lost by breakage or otherwise, or has, after being sold and removed from the premises, been returned to him as unfit for consumption, he may provisionally reduce the next weekly total in the book by deducting therefrom the quantity of cider so lost or returned up to an amount not exceeding in the aggregate 3 per cent. of the whole quantity of cider entered for duty during the week in which the cider so lost or returned was entered for duty, and the amount of duty shall provisionally be calculated on the total as so reduced :

Provided always that if the manufacturer, on being called upon to do so, fails to satisfy the Commissioners that any deduction made in pursuance of the foregoing provision was properly made, he shall on being so required by them forthwith amend the entries in the book in accordance with their directions in that behalf, and thereupon pay to the Collector the amount chargeable by way of duty on the quantities improperly deducted.

(i) The manufacturer shall for at least twelve months after the book has been filled up preserve the book and all books and other documents containing particulars on which the entries in the book are based.

4. Every manufacturer shall, on demand by the Commissioners, furnish to the prescribed Officer full particulars with respect to the quantities of cider manufactured at the premises within the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of the demand, the quantities received at the premises from elsewhere during that period, the quantities in stock on the premises at the beginning and end of that period, and the quantities sold thereon during that period.

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained with respect to deferred payment of duty, the manufacturer shall furnish to the Collector not later than the first working day in each week a full return in the approved form (hereinafter called " the return of dutiable cider ") of the quantity of cider removed from the premises for home consumption or sold for consumption thereon during the week ending on the preceding Saturday :

Provided always that the manufacturer shall not be required to include in the return of dutiable cider any cider in respect of which duty has already been paid by some other person, or any cider, not being cider manufactured by him, which was in his stock at midnight on 8th May, 1940, or any cider disposed of by way of gift and not of sale.

(2) Where any cider so removed or sold as aforesaid in any week is not included in the return of dutiable cider the manufacturer shall, if so required by the Commissioners, produce evidence to their satisfaction that that cider was cider in respect of which duty had already been paid, or was cider which was not cider manufactured by him and which was in his stock at midnight on 8th May, 1940, or was cider which was disposed of by way of gift and not of sale.

6. Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained with respect to deferred payment of duty, the duty shall become due at the time when the cider is removed from the premises, or in the case of cider sold for consumption on the premises at the time of sale, and the manufacturer shall at the time of making the return of dutiable cider pay to the Collector the amount appearing by the return to be due by way of duty on the cider removed or sold during the week to which the return relates.

7.—(1) The manufacturer may remove cider from the premises for exportation or shipment as ships' stores without payment of duty subject to compliance with the following conditions, namely :—

(a) The manufacturer shall give the prescribed notice of his intention to remove the cider for the purpose aforesaid.

(b) Each cask or case containing the cider shall be marked with a distinguishing mark and number and be produced to the export officer at the port or place of exportation or shipment accompanied by a shipping bill in the approved form.

(c) The manufacturer shall on demand produce to the Commissioners evidence to their satisfaction that the cider specified in the notice has been duly exported or shipped in accordance with the notice.

(2) Subject to the prescribed conditions a manufacturer may warehouse without payment of duty in any Customs and Excise warehouse any cider intended to be exported or shipped as ships' stores.

8.—(1) With the consent of the Commissioners and subject to the prescribed conditions:—

(a) any cider may be removed without payment of duty from the premises of the manufacturer to other premises of his or to the premises of another manufacturer; and

(b) any cider intended to be exported or shipped as ships' stores may be removed from the premises of any manufacturer of cider without payment of duty to the premises of an authorised exporter and thereafter removed from the last mentioned premises without payment of duty for exportation or shipment as ships' stores.

(2) The provisions of these Regulations relating to entry books and to the exportation of cider by a manufacturer shall apply in the case of an authorised exporter as if he were a manufacturer and his premises were registered premises.

(3) For the purpose of these Regulations the expression " authorised exporter " means a person, not being a manufacturer of cider, who is authorised by the Commissioners to export or ship as ships' stores cider without payment of duty.

9. The manufacturer shall, at the time of furnishing as aforesaid the return of dutiable cider, also furnish to the Collector a full return in the approved form of the quantities of cider removed from the premises within the week ending as aforesaid without payment of duty for the purpose of being exported or shipped as ships' stores or removed to the premises of an authorised exporter or to other premises of the manufacturer or to the premises of another manufacturer.

10.—(1) Every return made in pursuance of these Regulations shall be signed by the manufacturer or by some person duly authorised by him in that behalf.

(2) Where the manufacturer is an incorporated Company, the return shall be signed by the Managing Director or Secretary, or some other officer of the Company duly authorised under seal in that behalf, and where the manufacturer is a firm by one of the partners in the firm, or by some person duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the firm.

11.—(1) The Commissioners may, subject to security being given to their satisfaction by the manufacturer where so required, defer the payment of duty for such time and upon such terms as they may by order appoint.

(2) Where payment of duty is so deferred, the foregoing provisions of these Regulations shall have effect subject to the following modifications :—

(a) Where the word " week " occurs in any Regulation that Regulation shall be construed as if the word " month " were substituted therefor.

(b) The provision as to making deductions in the Entry Book for breakages and returned goods shall be construed as if the words " next monthly total " were substituted for the words " next weekly total ".

(c) The provision as to returns of dutiable cider shall be construed as if the words " the seventh day of every month " were substituted for the words " the first working day in each week," the words "the preceding month" for the words "the week ending on the preceding Saturday," and the words " proper Officer " for the word "Collector."

(d) The provision as to payment of duty shall be construed as if the words "within the prescribed time after the expiration of the month in respect of which the return of dutiable cider is made" were substituted for the words "at the time of making the return of dutiable cider."

(e) The provision as to returns of cider removed from premises without payment of duty for exportation, etc., shall be construed as if the words "proper Officer" were substituted for the word "Collector."

12.—(1) Where the duty chargeable on any cider remains unpaid for more than fifteen days after the same has become due, the Commissioners may, if they think it necessary so to do for the purpose of securing payment of the duty, direct the Collector to levy the duty by distress on the premises.

(2) Where the Commissioners in pursuance of this Regulation direct the Collector to levy the duty by distress, the Collector may thereupon by warrant signed by him authorise any person to distrain upon the premises and to sell any distress levied by public auction after giving six days' previous notice of the sale :

Provided that a distress shall not be levied under these Regulations unless notice in writing requiring payment of the amount of unpaid duty has been served on the manufacturer by leaving the notice at the premise aforesaid or by sending it to him by post addressed to the premises.

(3) The proceeds of the sale shall be applied in or towards paying the costs and expenses of the distress and sale and the payment of the duty due, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the manufacturer.

13. Where the manufacturer proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioners :—

(a) that any cider after having been entered by him for duty but before being delivered to a purchaser or at the premises of a purchaser, has been accidentally lost by breakage or otherwise; or

(b) that any cider after having been removed from the premises has been returned to him as unfit for consumption :

then, subject as is hereinafter provided, any duty paid or charged in respect of that cider shall be remitted :

Provided always that in the case of cider which has been returned as unfit for consumption:—

(a) a notice in writing stating that the cider has been returned as aforesaid and specifying the name and address of the person by whom it has been returned must be given to the proper Officer forthwith on its being received by the manufacturer; and

(b) proper facilities must be provided for the examination of the cider by the proper Officer;

and, unless the requirements aforesaid are complied with or unless the Commissioners in any special case think fit to waive compliance therewith, duty shall not be remitted.

14. Every person required by these Regulations to keep an entry book shall at reasonable times permit any Officer to inspect and take extracts from the book and all books and other documents required to be preserved as aforesaid and all trade books, records and accounts kept by him for the purpose of his business, which the Officer requires to inspect for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness of any entry in the entry book.

15.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Cider Duty (No. 2) Regulations, 1940.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires :—

" Commissioners " means Revenue Commissioners ;

" Collector " means the Collector of the Collection in which the premises of the manufacturer are situate ;

" Officer " means Officer of Customs and Excise ;

" Proper Officer " means the Officer of the Station in which the premises aforesaid are situate and includes a person acting for that Officer, and also any Officer superior in matters of Customs and Excise ;

" Prescribed " means prescribed by the Commissioners ;

" Approved " means approved by the Commissioners ;

" Manufacture " includes the dilution of cider or its preparation for sale in any other way ;

" Duty " means the duty on cider charged under Section 10 of the Finance Act, 1940 ;

" Cider " includes perry.

(3) The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937) applies to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

By Order of the Revenue Commissioners.

T. CLEARY.

Dublin Castle,

Dated the 25th day of October, 1940.