Finance Act 1999

“Attribution to participators of chargeable gains accruing to non-resident company.

590.—(1) In this section— (a) ‘participator’, in relation to a company, has the meaning assigned to it by section 433(1); (b) references to a person's interest as a participator in a company are references to the interest in the company which is represented by all the factors by reference to which the person falls to be treated as such a participator; and (c) references to the extent of such an interest are references to the proportion of the interests as participators of all the participators in the company (including any who are not resident or ordinarily resident in the State) which on a just and reasonable apportionment is represented by that interest. (2) For the purposes of this section, where— (a) the interest of any person in a company is wholly or partly represented by an interest (in this subsection referred to as the ‘person's beneficial interest’) which the person has under any settlement, and (b) the person's beneficial interest is the factor, or one of the factors, by reference to which the person would be treated, apart from this subsection, as having an interest as a participator in the company, the interest as a participator in the company which would be that person's shall be deemed, to the extent that it is represented by the person's beneficial interest, to be an interest of the trustees of the settlement, and not an interest of the person's, and references in this section, in relation to a company, to a participator shall be construed accordingly. (3) This section shall apply as respects chargeable gains accruing to a company— (a) which is not resident in the State, and (b) which would be a close company if it were resident in the State. (4) Subject to this section, every person who at the time when the chargeable gain accrues to the company is resident or ordinarily resident in the State, who, if an individual, is domiciled in the State, and who is a participator in the company, shall be treated for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts as if a part of the chargeable gain had accrued to that person. (5) The part of the chargeable gain referred to in subsection (4) shall be equal to the proportion of that gain that corresponds to the extent of the participator's interest as a participator in the company. (6) Subsection (4) shall not apply in the case of any participator in the company to which the gain accrues where the aggregate amount falling under that subsection to be apportioned to the participator and to persons connected with the participator does not exceed one-twentieth of the gain. (7) This section shall not apply in relation to— (a) a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of assets, being tangible property, whether movable or immovable, or a lease of such property, where the property was used, and used only, for the purposes of a trade carried on by the company wholly outside the State, (b) a chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of currency or of a debt within section 541(6), where the currency or debt is or represents money in use for the purposes of a trade carried on by the company wholly outside the State, or (c) a chargeable gain in respect of which the company is chargeable to capital gains tax by virtue of section 29 or to corporation tax by virtue of section 25(2)(b). (8) Where— (a) any amount of capital gains tax is paid by a person in pursuance of subsection (4), and (b) an amount in respect of the chargeable gain is distributed, whether by way of dividend or distribution of capital or on the dissolution of the company, within 2 years from the time when the chargeable gain accrued to the company, that amount of tax, so far as neither reimbursed by the company nor applied as a deduction under subsection (9), shall be applied for reducing or extinguishing any liability of the person to income tax in respect of the distribution or (in the case of a distribution falling to be treated as a disposal on which a chargeable gain accrues to the person) to any capital gains tax in respect of the distribution. (9) The amount of capital gains tax paid by a person in pursuance of subsection (4), so far as neither reimbursed by the company nor applied under subsection (8) for reducing any liability to tax, shall be allowable as a deduction in the computation under the Capital Gains Tax Acts of a gain accruing on the disposal by the person of any asset representing the person's interest as a participator in the company. (10) In ascertaining for the purposes of subsection (8) the amount of income tax chargeable on any person for any year of assessment on or in respect of a distribution, any such distribution mentioned in that subsection which falls to be treated as income of that person for that year of assessment shall be regarded as forming the highest part of the income on which the person is charged to tax for the year of assessment. (11) To the extent that it would reduce or extinguish chargeable gains accruing by virtue of this section to a person in a year of assessment, this section shall apply in relation to a loss accruing to the company on the disposal of an asset in that year of assessment as it would apply if a gain instead of a loss had accrued to the company on the disposal, but shall only apply in relation to that person; and, subject to the preceding provisions of this subsection, this section shall not apply in relation to a loss accruing to the company. (12) Where the person who is a participator in the company at the time when the chargeable gain accrued to the company is itself a company which is not resident in the State but which would be a close company if it were resident in the State, an amount equal to the amount apportioned under subsection (5) out of the chargeable gain to the participating company's interest as a participator in the company to which the gain accrues shall be further apportioned among the participators in the participating company according to the extent of their respective interests as participators, and subsection (4) shall apply to them accordingly in relation to the amounts further apportioned, and so on through any number of companies. (13) The persons treated by this section as if a part of a chargeable gain accruing to a company had accrued to them shall include trustees who are participators in the company, or in any company amongst the participators in which the gain is apportioned under subsection (12), if when the gain accrued to the company the trustees are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State. (14) Where any tax payable by any person by virtue of subsection (4) is paid by the company to which the chargeable gain accrues, or in a case under subsection (12) is paid by any such other company, the amount so paid shall not, for the purposes of income tax, capital gains tax or corporation tax, be regarded as a payment to the person by whom the tax was originally payable. (15) For the purposes of this section, the amount of the gain or loss accruing at any time to a company which is not resident in the State shall be computed (where it is not the case) as if the company were within the charge to corporation tax on capital gains. (16) (a) In this subsection— ‘group’ shall be construed in accordance with subsections (1) (excluding paragraph (a)), (3) and (4) of section 616; ‘non-resident group’ of companies— (i) in the case of a group none of the members of which is resident in the State, means that group, and (ii) in the case of a group 2 or more members of which are not resident in the State, means the members not resident in the State. (b) For the purposes of this section— (i) sections 617 to 620 shall apply in relation to non-resident companies which are members of a non-resident group of companies as they apply in relation to companies resident in the State which are members of a group of companies, and (ii) sections 623 and 625 shall apply as if for any reference in those sections to a group of companies there were substituted a reference to a non-resident group of companies, and as if references to companies were references to companies not resident in the State.”.

(2) This section shall apply as respects chargeable gains accruing to a company on or after the 11th day of February, 1999.

90 Amendment of Chaper 7 (other reliefs and exemptions) of Part 19 of Principal Act.

90.—(1) Part 19 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in Chapter 7—

(a) in section 613—

(i) in subsection (4)(a) by the substitution for “No chargeable gain” of “Subject to subsection (5), no chargeable gain”, and

(ii) by the insertion after subsection (4) of the following subsections:

“(5) Subsection (4)(a) shall not apply—

(a) to the disposal of an interest in settled property, other than such a disposal treated under subsection (4)(b) as made in consideration of obtaining the settled property, if at the time of the disposal the trustees are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State,

(b) if the settlement falls within subsection (6), or

(c) the property comprised in the settlement is or includes property that is derived directly or indirectly from a settlement falling within subsection (6).

(6) (a) In this subsection ‘arrangements’ means arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826 (as extended to capital gains tax by section 828).

(b) A settlement falls within this subsection if there has been a time when the trustees of the settlement—

(i) were neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State, or

(ii) fell to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements as resident in a territory outside the State.”,

and

(b) by the insertion after section 613 of the following section:

“Supplementary provisions.

613A.—(1) Subject to this section, subsection (2) shall apply where— (a) section 579B applies as regards the trustees of a settlement, (b) after the relevant time (within the meaning of that section) a person disposes of an interest created by or arising under the settlement and the circumstances are such that subsection (4)(a) of section 613 does not apply by virtue of subsection (5)(a) of that section, and (c) the interest was created for the benefit of the person making the disposal or that person otherwise acquired it, before the relevant time. (2) For the purposes of calculating any chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the interest, the person disposing of it shall be treated as having— (a) disposed of it immediately before the relevant time, and (b) immediately reacquired it, at its market value at that time. (3) Subsection (2) shall not apply if section 579E applied as regards the trustees in circumstances where the time concerned (within the meaning of that section) fell before the time when the interest was created for the benefit of the person disposing of it or when the person otherwise acquired it. (4) Subsection (6) applies where— (a) section 579B applies as regards the trustees of a settlement, (b) after the relevant time (within the meaning of that section) a person disposes of an interest created by or arising under the settlement and the circumstances are such that subsection (4)(a) of section 613 does not apply by virtue of subsection (5)(a) of that section, (c) the interest was created for the person's benefit, or the person otherwise acquired it, before the relevant time, and (d) section 579E applied as regards the trustees in circumstances where the time concerned (within the meaning of that section) fell in the relevant period. (5) The relevant period is the period which— (a) begins when the interest was created for the benefit of the person disposing of it or when the person otherwise acquired it, and (b) ends with the relevant time. (6) For the purposes of calculating any chargeable gain accruing on the disposal of the interest, the person disposing of it shall be treated as having— (a) disposed of it immediately before the time determined in accordance with subsection (7), and (b) immediately reacquired it, at its market value at that time. (7) The time mentioned in subsection (6) is— (a) where there is only one such time, the time concerned, or (b) where there is more than one time concerned, because section 579E applied more than once, the earliest time concerned. (8) Where subsection (2) applies, subsection (6) shall not apply.”.

(2) This section shall apply as respects the disposal on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, of an interest created by or arising under a settlement.

91 Amendment of section 649A (relevant disposals: rate of charge) of Principal Act.

91.—(1) Section 649A of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (2)—

(a) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b):

“(ii) being a disposal, at any time in the period beginning on the 10th day of March, 1999, and ending on the 5th day of April, 2002, of land—

(I) to—

(A) a housing authority (within the meaning of section 23 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992),

(B) the National Building Agency Limited (being the company referred to in section 1 of the National Building Agency Limited Act, 1963), or

(C) a body standing approved of for the purposes of section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992,

which land is specified in a certificate in writing given by a housing authority or the National Building Agency Limited, as appropriate, as land being required for the purposes of the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1998,

(II) in respect of the whole of which, at the time at which the disposal is made, permission for residential development has been granted under section 26 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, and such permission has not ceased to exist, other than a disposal to which paragraph (c) applies, or

(III) in respect of the whole of which, at the time at which the disposal is made, is, in accordance with a development objective (as indicated in the development plan of the planning authority concerned), for use solely or primarily for residential purposes, other than a disposal to which paragraph (c) applies.”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) This paragraph applies to a relevant disposal being a disposal—

(i) by any person (‘the disponer’) to a person who is connected with the disponer, or

(ii) of land under a relevant contract in relation to the disposal.”.

(2) This section shall apply to a relevant disposal made on or after the 10th day of March, 1999.

92 Amendment of Chaper 5 (capital gains tax: returns, information, etc.) of Part 38 of Principal Act.

92.—(1) Part 38 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in Chapter 5—

(a) in section 917—

(i) by the substitution for “within section 579 or 590” of “within sections 579 to 579F and section 590”, and

(ii) by the substitution for “under section 579 or 590” of “under sections 579 to 579F or section 590”,

(b) by the insertion after section 917 of the following sections:

“Return of property transfers to non-resident trustees.	917A.—(1) In this section and in sections 917B and 917C ‘appropriate inspector’ shall be construed in accordance with section 950. (2) This section applies where— (a) on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, a person (in this section referred to as the ‘transferor’) transfers property to the trustees of a settlement otherwise than under a transaction entered into at arm's length, (b) the trustees of the settlement are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State at the time the property is transferred, and (c) the transferor knows or has reason to believe, that the trustees are not so resident and ordinarily resident. (3) Where this section applies, the transferor shall, before the expiry of 3 months beginning with the day on which the transfer is made, deliver to the appropriate inspector a statement which— (a) identifies the settlement, and (b) specifies the property transferred, the day on which the transfer was made, and the consideration (if any) for the transfer. (4) Where a transferor fails— (a) to make a statement required to be made by the transferor in accordance with subsection (3), or (b) to include in such a statement the details referred to in subsection (3), the transferor shall in respect of each such failure be liable to a penalty of £2,000. (5) Penalties under subsection (4) may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be proceeded for and recovered summarily in like manner as in summary proceedings for the recovery of any fine or penalty under any act relating to the excise.”.
“Return by settlor in relation to non-resident trustees.	917B.—(1) In this section and in section 917C ‘arrangements’ means arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826 (as extended to capital gains tax by section 828); (2) This section applies where a settlement is created on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, and at the time it is created— (a) the trustees are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State, or (b) the trustees are resident and ordinarily resident in the State but fall to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements as resident in a territory outside the State. (3) Where this section applies, any person who— (a) is a settlor in relation to the settlement at the time it is created, and (b) at that time fulfils the condition mentioned in subsection (4), shall, before the expiry of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the settlement is created, deliver to the appropriate inspector a statement specifying— (i) the day on which the settlement was created; (ii) the name and address of the person making the statement; and (iii) the names and addresses of the persons who are the trustees immediately before the delivery of the statement. (4) The condition is that the person concerned is domiciled in the State and is either resident or ordinarily resident in the State. (5) Where a person fails— (a) to make a statement required to be made by the person in accordance with subsection (2), or (b) to include in such a statement the details referred to in subsection (2), the person shall in respect of each such failure be liable to a penalty of £2,000. (6) Penalties under subsection (5) may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be proceeded for and recovered summarily in like manner as in summary proceedings for the recovery of any fine or penalty under any act relating to the excise.”.
“Return by certain trustees.	917C.—(1) This section applies where— (a) the trustees of a settlement become at any time (in this section referred to as ‘the relevant time’) on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State, or (b) the trustees of a settlement, while continuing to be resident and ordinarily resident in the State, become at any time (in this section also referred to as ‘the relevant time’) on or after the 11th day of February, 1999, trustees who fall to be regarded for the purposes of any arrangements as resident in a territory outside the State. (2) Where this section applies, any person who was a trustee of the settlement immediately before the relevant time shall, before the expiry of the period of 3 months beginning with the day when the relevant time falls, deliver to the appropriate inspector a statement specifying— (a) the day on which the settlement was created, (b) the name and address of each person who is a settlor in relation to the settlement immediately before the delivery of the statement, and (c) the names and addresses of the persons who are the trustees immediately before the delivery of the statement. (3) Where a person fails— (a) to make a statement required to be made by the person in accordance with subsection (2), or (b) to include in such a statement the details referred to in subsection (2), the person shall in respect of each such failure be liable to a penalty of £2,000. (4) Penalties under subsection (3) may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be proceeded for and recovered summarily in like manner as in summary proceedings for the recovery of any fine or penalty under any act relating to the excise.”.

(2) This section shall apply as on and from the 11th day of February, 1999.

93 Amendment of Schedule 15 (list of bodies for purposes of section 610) to Principal Act.

93.—Schedule 15 to the Principal Act is hereby amended in Part 1 by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 32:

“33. National Rehabilitation Board.”.

PART 2 Customs and Excise

Chapter 1 Mineral Oil Tax

94 Interpretation (Chapter 1).

94.—(1) In this Chapter and in Schedule 2, save where the context otherwise requires—

“additive” means any product (other than hydrocarbon oil, liquefied petroleum gas or substitute fuel) which may be added to—

(a) hydrocarbon oil,

(b) liquefied petroleum gas, or

(c) substitute fuel,

as an extender or for the purpose of improving performance or for any other purpose, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“agricultural tractor” means a mechanically propelled vehicle which is designed or constructed primarily for use for agricultural purposes;

“alumina” means aluminium oxide;

“ASTM” means American Society for Testing and Materials;

“authorised warehousekeeper” has the meaning assigned to it by section 103 of the Finance Act, 1992;

“aviation gasoline” means light oil which—

(a) is specially manufactured as fuel for aircraft,

(b) is not normally used in motor vehicles, and

(c) is delivered for use solely as fuel for aircraft;

“biofuel” includes products manufactured or produced from oil seeds, cereals or other plant material for use or used as fuel for engines or motors;

“combustion in the engine of a motor vehicle” shall be construed as including internal combustion in such engine and external combustion as fuel for such engine;

“the Commissioners” means the Revenue Commissioners;

“the Directive” means Council Directive No. 92/81/EEC of 19 October, 1992[^1], as amended by Council Directive No. 94/74/EEC of 22 December, 1994[^2];

“fuel oil” means heavy oil, the viscosity of which as determined by the Redwood No. 1 Viscometer at 38 Celsius is more than 115 seconds, the ash content of which is less than 0.2 per cent when tested in accordance with the method known as the ASTM D482 method or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners and the colour of which is darker than 8 when tested in accordance with the method known as the ASTM D1500 method or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners;

“glasshouse” means any building or structure made substantially of glass or other transparent or translucent material which is capable of being artificially heated and which is used for growing horticultural produce;

“heavy oil” means hydrocarbon oil other than light oil;

“horticultural produce” means fruit, vegetables (including fungi) of a kind grown for human consumption, flowers, pot plants, herbs, seeds, bulbs, trees and shrubs;

“horticultural producer” means a person growing horticultural produce;

“hydrocarbon oil” includes petroleum oil and oil produced from coal, shale, peat, or any other bituminous substance, and all liquid hydrocarbons, but does not include any oil which is a hydrocarbon or a bituminous or asphaltic substance and is, when tested in a manner prescribed by the Commissioners, solid or semi-solid at a temperature of 15 Celsius;

“land” includes any structure on land;

“leaded petrol” means light oil which—

(a) contains more than 0.013 grammes of lead per litre as established in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive No. 85/210/EEC of 20 March, 1985[^1], and

(b) is not aviation gasoline;

“light oil” means hydrocarbon oil of which, when tested in accordance with the method known as the ASTM D86 method or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners, not less than 50 per cent by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 185 Celsius or of which not less than 95 per cent by volume distils at a temperature not exceeding 240 Celsius or which, when tested in accordance with the method known as the ASTM D93 or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners has a flashpoint of less than 22.8 Celsius but does not include white spirit or light oil which is charged as heavy oil in accordance with section 96 (4);

“liquefied petroleum gas” includes methane;

“marker” means a combination of chemical compounds added, or to be added, to mineral oils primarily for the purpose of the identification of such oils for excise duty purposes;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Union;

“methane” means a colourless, odourless, flammable gas, having the chemical formula CH4, of density 0.7168 grammes per litre and a boiling point of -161.4 Celsius;

“mineral oil” means hydrocarbon oil, liquefied petroleum gas, substitute fuel and additives;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“mobile concrete pumping equipment” means a vehicle which is designed, constructed or adapted solely for pumping concrete and which is not used for any purpose on roads other than for travel or for pumping concrete;

“mobile crane” means a vehicle which is designed, constructed or adapted solely for lifting or elevating goods and which is not used for any purpose on roads other than for travel or for lifting or elevating goods;

“mobile well drilling equipment” means a vehicle which is designed, constructed or adapted solely for well drilling purposes and which is not used for any purpose on roads other than for travel or for well drilling;

“motor” means any device that converts mineral oil into mechanical energy to produce motion and includes an engine of a motor vehicle and a stationary engine;

“motor octane number” means the motor octane number measured in accordance with the methods outlined in the Irish Standard I.S./EN 228: 1994 or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners;

“motor vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle which is designed, constructed or modified to be suitable for use on roads, including any vehicle which is designed, constructed or modified to be suitable for traction on a road by a mechanically propelled vehicle, but does not include an agricultural tractor or a road roller or an off-road dumper, or a mobile crane or mobile well drilling equipment or mobile concrete pumping equipment;

“officer” means an officer of the Commissioners;

“off-road dumper” means a vehicle exceeding 3 metres cubed in capacity, level loaded, designed and constructed primarily for use on sites of construction works (including road construction and house and other building works) for the purpose of conveying concrete, rubble, earth or other like materials and incapable by reason of its design and construction of exceeding a speed of 55 kilometres per hour on a level road under its own power and which is the subject of a special permit under Article 17 of the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 (S.I. No. 190 of 1963);

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Commissioners under section 104;

“private pleasure craft” means any craft used by its owner or the natural or legal person who enjoys its use either through hire or through any other means, for other than commercial purposes and in particular other than for the carriage of passengers or goods or for the supply of services for consideration or for the purposes of public authorities;

“private pleasure flying” means the use of an aircraft by its owner or the natural or legal person who enjoys its use either through hire or through any other means, for other than commercial purposes and in particular other than for the carriage of passengers or goods or for the supply of services for consideration or for the purposes of public authorities;

“producing”, in relation to mineral oils, includes manufacturing, refining, recycling, subjecting to a specific process within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Directive, and any other method of processing and obtaining of mineral oil from any natural source and “production” and other cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“prohibited goods” means any machinery, apparatus, equipment, vessel, substance or other thing which is being used, or was used, or is intended to be used—

(a) in the removal from any mineral oil of any prescribed marker or any substance prohibited by regulations made under section 104, or

(b) for the purpose of impeding the identification in any mineral oil of any prescribed marker;

“propellant” means for combustion in the engine of a motor vehicle;

“recycle”, in relation to mineral oil, means to undergo any process of restoration which renders it suitable for reuse and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“research octane number” means the research octane number measured in accordance with the methods outlined in the Irish Standard I.S./EN 228: 1994 or other equivalent method approved by the Commissioners;

“special container” means any container fitted with specially designed apparatus for refrigeration, oxygenation, thermal insulation or other systems;

“standard tank”, in relation to a motor vehicle, means—

(a) a tank of a type permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all motor vehicles of the same type as the vehicle concerned and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly, both for the purpose of propulsion and, where appropriate, for the operation, during transport, of refrigeration systems and other systems,

(b) a gas tank fitted to a motor vehicle designed for the direct use of gas as a fuel and a tank fitted to any other system with which the vehicle may be equipped, or

(c) a tank of a type permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all containers of the same type as the container concerned and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly for the operation, during transport, of the refrigeration systems or other systems with which a special container is equipped;

“substitute fuel” means any product, including biofuel, in liquid form, manufactured, produced or intended for use or used as fuel for a motor or as heating fuel but does not include an additive, hydrocarbon oil or liquefied petroleum gas;

“super unleaded petrol” means light oil which is not leaded petrol and which has a research octane number of 96 or more and a motor octane number of 86 or more;

“tax warehouse” has the meaning assigned to it by section 103 of the Finance Act, 1992;

“unleaded petrol” means light oil which—

(a) contains not more than 0.013 grammes of lead per litre as established in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive No. 85/210/EEC of 20 March, 1985,

(b) has a research octane number of less than 96 or a motor octane number of less than 86, and

(c) is not aviation gasoline.

(2) (a) In this Chapter “fuel tank” means any tank or other container in or on a motor vehicle which is used or is capable of being used to supply fuel for combustion in the engine of the motor vehicle for the purposes of propulsion or of another motor vehicle which can provide traction for such purposes.

(b) It shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that a fuel tank is capable of being used to supply fuel for the purposes of propulsion if there are any outlets from the fuel tank other than—

(i) those which are permanently and solely connected to and for the sole supply of fuel for refrigeration, oxygenation, thermal insulation or other specialised systems in or on the motor vehicle, or

(ii) those which are solely for the purpose of discharging fuel from an oil road tanker to a vessel or tank separate from such oil tanker.

95 Charge of tax.

95.—(1) In addition to any other duty which may be chargeable and subject to the provisions of this Chapter and any regulations made under it, a duty of excise, to be known as mineral oil tax, shall, subject to subsection (4) be charged, levied and paid at the rates specified in section 96 on all mineral oil—

(a) produced in the State, or

(b) imported into the State.

(2) For the purposes of charging mineral oil tax the volume of mineral oil shall be ascertained at a temperature of 15 Celsius and in the manner specified by the Commissioners.

(3) Notwithstanding that tax in respect of mineral oil chargeable with mineral oil tax imposed by subsection (1) may already have been paid, used mineral oil, which has been recycled to render it suitable for use as a propellant, shall be liable to tax under subsection (1).

(4) Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1), only mineral oil coming within the definition of “mineral oil” in Article 2(1) of the Directive, substitute fuel and additives shall be subject to mineral oil tax.

96 Rates.

96.—(1) Mineral oil tax shall be charged at the rates specified in Schedule 2..

(2) The rate of tax at which additives shall be charged shall be the rate applicable to the mineral oil in which the additive is used or intended for use.

(3) The rate of tax on used mineral oil chargeable to tax under section 95(3) shall be the rate applicable to heavy oil used as a propellant.

(4) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that any light oil is an oil which, according to its use, should be classed with heavy oil the oil shall be liable to tax at the rate appropriate to such heavy oil.

97 Rates lower than standard rates.

97.—(1) Where a mineral oil product is liable to mineral oil tax at a rate lower than the appropriate standard rate, such lower rate may, subject to section 98 be applied by the Commissioners by means of remission or repayment of the difference between the standard rate and the lower rate concerned or, where the rate at which mineral oil tax was previously paid was lower than the standard rate, the difference between that rate and the lower rate at which the product is liable.

(2) The standard rate in relation to light oils means the appropriate rate for petrol and in relation to any other mineral oil product means the rate for that product when it is used as a propellant.

(3) The application of a rate lower than the standard rate concerned may be subject to the Commissioners being satisfied as to the intended or actual use of the oil concerned and to such other conditions as they may impose and to compliance with such conditions.

98 Horticultural production.

98.—(1) Where a horticultural producer shows, to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that heavy oil or liquefied petroleum gas on which mineral oil tax has been paid was used by that producer either—

(a) in the production of horticultural produce in one or more than one glasshouse of a total area of not less than a quarter of an acre, or

(b) in the cultivation of mushrooms in one or more than one building or structure of a total area of not less than 3,000 square feet,

the Commissioners shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay to such producer the amount of mineral oil tax paid less an amount calculated at the rate of £4.40 per 1,000 litres on such oil or gas.

(2) Claims for repayment by virtue of subsection (1) shall be made in such form as the Commissioners may direct and shall be in respect of oil used within a period of one calendar month and no repayment may be made unless the claim is made within 3 months following the end of each such period or within such longer period as the Commissioners may, in any particular case, allow.

99 Passenger road services.

99.—(1) Where a person, being a person who carries on a passenger road service within the meaning of section 2 of the Road Transport Act, 1932, and who either is the licensee under a passenger licence granted under section 11 of that Act in respect of the passenger road service or is exempted from the application of section 7 of that Act shows to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that heavy oil on which mineral oil tax has been paid has been used by such person for combustion in the engine of a mechanically propelled vehicle used in the passenger road service, the Commissioners shall, subject to compliance with such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay to such person the amount of mineral oil tax paid less an amount calculated at the rate of £17.90 per 1,000 litres on such mineral oil so used.

(2) Claims for repayment by virtue of subsection (1) shall be made in such form as the Commissioners may direct and shall be in respect of oil used within a period of one calendar month and no repayment may be made unless the claim is made within 3 months following the end of each such period or within such longer period as the Commissioners may, in any particular case, allow.

100 Reliefs from mineral oil tax for certain mineral oils.

100.—(1) Subject to it being shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the condition or conditions in this section which are necessary for eligibility for relief from mineral oil tax and any other conditions imposed by the Commissioners have been complied with, a relief from mineral oil tax shall be granted on—

(a) mineral oil used for purposes other than motor or heating fuel;

(b) any mineral oil on which mineral oil tax was paid and which was subsequently allowed by the Commissioners to be put in a tax warehouse;

(c) any mineral oil exported from the State to a place outside the European Union;

(d) any mineral oil shipped for use as ships' stores;

(e) fuel oil intended for use in, or in connection with, the manufacture of alumina, or for the maintenance of the manufactory in which the said manufacture is carried on;

(f) mineral oil present, at the time of importation into the State, in the standard tank of a motor vehicle provided that, in the case of oil in a fuel tank, such oil was released in a Member State for use as a propellant;

(g) mineral oil intended for use, or which has been used for injection into a blast furnace for the purposes of chemical reduction as an addition to the coke used as the principal fuel;

(h) mineral oil which is intended for use or has been used as fuel for the purpose of sea navigation, including sea-fishing, other than in private pleasure craft;

(i) heavy oil intended for use or which has been used as fuel for the purpose of air navigation other than private pleasure flying;

(j) used mineral oil which is recycled and which is used or intended for purposes other than as a propellant;

(k) mineral oil in respect of which the Minister thinks it proper to repay or remit mineral oil tax or part of that tax to the extent that the Minister thinks proper.

(2) Where mineral oil is eligible for relief from tax under the provisions of subsection (1) the relief may be granted by the Commissioners by means of remission or repayment of mineral oil tax.

(3) Claims for remission or repayment by virtue of subsection (2) shall be made in such form as the Commissioners may direct and shall be in respect of oil used within a period of one calendar month and no repayment may be made unless the claim is made within 3 months following the end of each such period or within such longer period as the Commissioners may, in any particular case, allow.

101 Licensing.

101.—(1) There shall be charged, levied and paid on a licence granted by the Commissioners to be taken out annually by every person who produces, sells, delivers or deals in on any premises any mineral oil, other than additives, for use as a propellant which is chargeable with mineral oil tax, a duty of excise, in this Chapter referred to as the licence duty, in respect of each such premises.

(2) Any licence or authorisation granted under paragraph 12(12) of the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 (S.I. No. 307 of 1975), section 42 of the Finance Act, 1976, section 45 of the Finance Act, 1989, or section 116 of the Finance Act, 1995, which is subsisting at the commencement of this provision shall be deemed to be a licence granted under this section until the date on which it is expressed to expire.

(3) The Commissioners may, on application to them in writing and on furnishing them with such information as they may reasonably require, grant to the person concerned a licence under this section.

(4) A licence shall not be granted under this section unless a tax clearance certificate in relation to that licence has been issued in accordance with section 1094 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997.

(5) A licence granted under this section shall be subject to such conditions, if any, as the Commissioners may specify in the licence and any such conditions shall be complied with by the person concerned.

(6) A licence granted under this section may make different provisions for persons, premises or mineral oil of different classes or descriptions, for different circumstances and for different cases.

(7) The Commissioners may revoke any licence granted, or deemed to be granted, under this section if it appears to them that any condition specified in the licence has not been or is not being complied with.

(8) Licence duty shall be charged at the rate of £30 per year or part of a year.

102 Offences.

102.—(1) It shall be an offence under this subsection for a person—

(a) to contravene or fail to comply, whether by act or omission, with the provisions of this Chapter or any regulation made under section 104 or any condition imposed under this Chapter or under such regulation,

(b) to use as a propellant, to sell or deliver for such use or keep in a fuel tank—

(i) any mineral oil on which mineral oil tax at the appropriate standard rate has not been paid,

(ii) any mineral oil containing one or more markers prescribed by regulations under section 104, or

(iii) any substance where the importation of mineral oil containing such substance is prohibited by regulation made under section 104,

(c) to purchase or receive mineral oil for use as a propellant from a person who is not the holder of a licence issued under section 101,

(d) to produce or sell on, or to deliver from, any premises, or otherwise deal in, any mineral oil, other than additives, for use as a propellant which is chargeable with mineral oil tax unless such person holds a licence granted under section 101 in respect of such mineral oil and in respect of such premises, or

(e) being the holder of a licence granted under section 101, not to display such licence on the premises to which such licence relates.

(2) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which a person may be liable, where such person is guilty of an offence under subsection (1), he or she shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of £1,000.

(3) It shall be an offence under this subsection—

(a) without the consent in writing of the Commissioners, to remove or attempt to remove or be knowingly concerned in removing or attempting to remove from any mineral oil—

(i) any prescribed marker, or

(ii) any substance where the importation of mineral oil containing such substance is prohibited by regulation made under section 104,

(b) to knowingly deal in any mineral oil from which any such prescribed marker or substance referred to in subsection (1)(b)(iii) has been removed or to which any thing has been added for the purpose of impeding the identification in the said mineral oil of any such marker or such substance, or

(c) to keep prohibited goods in any premises or on any land.

(4) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which a person may be liable, where such person is guilty of an offence under subsection (3) he or she shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine of £1,000 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(b) on a conviction on an indictment, to a fine of £10,000 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

(5) The mineral oil in respect of which an offence under subsection (1) or (3) was committed and any substance mixed with such oil shall be liable to forfeiture.

(6) In the case of—

(a) an offence under subsection (1), where—

(i) a concealed tank, other container or any device, contrivance or method of any kind, is employed to conceal the presence in the motor vehicle of mineral oil intended for use as a propellant, or

(ii) the owner or person in charge of the motor vehicle does not have a permanent address in the State, or

(iii) proof of payment of mineral oil tax at the rate appropriate for use of the mineral oil concerned in a fuel tank is not produced, following interrogation under the provisions of Chapter II of Part II of the Finance Act, 1995, and an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that mineral oil tax has not been so paid,

or

(b) a second or subsequent offence by a person under subsection (1),

the vehicle shall be liable to forfeiture.

(7) Any prohibited goods in respect of which an offence is committed under subsection (3) and any mineral oil found at the place where and at the time at which such offence was committed, any conveyance or container or any other thing which was used for the carriage, storage or concealment of any such prohibited goods or mineral oil shall be liable to forfeiture.

(8) Section 13 (as amended by section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, shall apply in relation to an offence under this section.

(9) Where an offence under subsection (3) is committed by a body corporate and the offence is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of any person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body corporate that person shall also be deemed to be guilty of an offence and may be proceeded against and punished as if guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

103 Presumptions in certain proceedings.

103.—(1) Where in any proceedings to recover a penalty under section 102—

(a) the offence in respect of which the penalty is claimed consists of the use of mineral oil as a propellant or the keeping of mineral oil in a fuel tank in contravention of that section, and

(b) it is proved that mineral oil was found in the fuel tank,

the mineral oil so found shall be presumed (unless or until the contrary is proved) to have been kept in the fuel tank in contravention of that section and to have been so kept in such contravention by—

(i) either the owner of the vehicle or, if a person other than the owner was at the time at which it is alleged the offence was committed entitled to possession of the vehicle, the person so entitled, and

(ii) if a person other than the owner or the person entitled as aforesaid was at the time at which it is alleged the offence was committed in charge of the vehicle, the person so in charge.

(2) In any proceedings against a person for selling, delivering, using or keeping for use as a propellant, mineral oil on which mineral oil tax has not been paid, or on which tax at a rate lower than the rate appropriate to its use as a propellant has been paid, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that mineral oil tax has not been paid or that mineral oil tax has been paid at such lower rate as the case may be.

(3) Whenever a person who is the owner or the occupier for the time being of premises or land in or on which prohibited goods are found is charged in any legal proceedings with contravening that section, the prohibited goods shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been kept by such person in the said premises, or on the said land (as the case may be), in contravention of that section.

104 Regulations.

104.—(1) The Commissioners may, for the purposes of managing, securing and collecting mineral oil tax or for the protection of the revenue derived from that tax, make regulations.

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

(a) govern the production, movement, importation, treatment, sale, delivery, warehousing, keeping, storage, removal to and from storage, exportation and use of mineral oil;

(b) provide for securing, paying, collecting, remitting and repaying mineral oil tax;

(c) regulate the issue of licences granted under section 101;

(d) require a person who produces, imports, treats, sells, delivers, keeps, stores, deals in, exports or uses mineral oil to keep in a specified manner, and to preserve for a specified period, such accounts and records relating to such mineral oil as may be specified and any other books, documents, accounts or other records (including records in a machine readable form) relating to the production, importation, treatment, purchase, receipt, sale, delivery, keeping, storage, removal to or from storage, disposal, exportation or use of mineral oil and to allow any officer to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, such books, documents, accounts and other records (including, in the case of records in a machine readable form, copies in a readable form);

(e) require any person mentioned in paragraph (d) to notify the proper officer of all places and premises and of all vessels, storage tanks and pipelines intended to be used by him or her in the carrying on of his or her business and provide for the method of such notification;

(f) require any person mentioned in paragraph (d) to furnish, at such times and in such form as may be specified, such information and returns in relation to mineral oils as may be specified;

(g) require a person who is an owner of or who is for the time being in charge of any motor vehicle constructed or adapted to use liquefied petroleum gas or substitute fuel as a propellant in that vehicle to give such information in relation to the supply or use of such mineral oil as may be specified;

(h) require as a condition of allowing in respect of any mineral oil the application of a rate lower than the appropriate standard rate for the mineral oil concerned or any exemption or relief from mineral oil tax, subject to such exceptions as the Commissioners may allow, that there shall have been added to that mineral oil at such time and in such manner and in such proportions as may be prescribed, one or more prescribed markers and that a declaration to that effect is furnished;

(i) specify the substances which are to constitute a prescribed marker for the purposes of paragraph (h) and specify the procedures for the approval of such markers;

(j) prohibit the addition to any mineral oil of any prescribed marker except in such circumstances as may be prescribed;

(k) prohibit the addition to or mixing with any mineral oil of any substance, not being a prescribed marker, including any substance which is calculated to impede the identification of a prescribed marker;

(l) prohibit the importation, keeping for sale, transportation or delivery of any mineral oil to which has been added any substance, not being a prescribed marker, including any substance which is calculated to impede the identification of a prescribed marker;

(m) prohibit the importation, sale or delivery of any mineral oil in which a prescribed marker is present unless it is present in the proportions prescribed and unless such mineral oil is intended for use for a purpose other than combustion in the engine of a motor vehicle and a declaration to that effect is furnished;

(n) require containers for the storage or transportation of mineral oil to be marked in such a manner as may be prescribed;

(o) require that aviation gasoline shall be deposited in a tax warehouse prior to its delivery for home use;

(p) prohibit the use of aviation gasoline otherwise than as a fuel for aircraft;

(q) prohibit the taking of aviation gasoline into a fuel tank in or on a motor vehicle;

(r) provide that aviation gasoline shall not be mixed with any other substance, save with the permission of the Commissioners.

(3) Regulations made under this section may make different provisions for persons, premises or products of different classes or descriptions, for different circumstances and for different cases.

105 General provisions.

105.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) and to subsection (2), 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 mineral oil tax imposed by section 95 on mineral oil imported into the State as they apply in relation to duties of customs.

(b) Where, in relation to mineral oil tax, 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 tax.

(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 the duties of excise made under statute and not otherwise applied by this Chapter shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to mineral oil tax imposed by section 95 on mineral oil produced in the State or exported to or imported from a Member State as they apply to duties of excise.

(b) Where, in relation to mineral oil tax, 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 tax.

(3) This Chapter, so far as it relates to mineral oil tax on imported goods imposed by section 95, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and any instrument relating to the customs made under statute and, so far as it relates to the said tax on goods made in the State, or exported to or imported from a Member State shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties and any instrument relating to the duties of excise and the management of those duties made under statute.

106 Repeals and revocations.

106.—(1) The enactments set out in Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 3 (which enactments are in this Chapter referred to as “the repealed enactments”) are hereby repealed in the case of those set out in the said Part 1, and revoked in the case of those set out in the said Part 2, to the extent mentioned in the third column of those Parts opposite the reference to the enactment concerned.

(2) If, and in so far as a provision of this Chapter operates, as from the day appointed under section 109, in substitution for a provision of the repealed enactments, any order or regulation made or having effect as if made, and any thing done or having effect as if done, under the substituted provision before that day shall be treated as from that day as if it were an order or regulation made or a thing done under such provision of this Chapter.

107 Continuity.

107.—(1) The provisions of this Chapter shall apply subject to so much of any Act which contains provisions relating to or affecting excise duties as—

(a) is not repealed by this Chapter, and

(b) would have operated in relation to these duties if this Chapter had not been substituted for the repealed enactments.

(2) The Commissioners shall have all the jurisdictions, powers and duties in relation to mineral oil tax which they had in relation to the corresponding excise duties.

(3) The continuity of the operation of the law relating to excise duties on mineral oils shall not be affected by the substitution of this Chapter for the repealed enactments.

(4) Any reference, whether express or implied, in any enactment or document (including this Chapter)—

(a) to any provision of this Chapter, or

(b) to things done or to be done under or for the purposes of any provision of this Chapter,

shall, if and in so far as the nature of the reference permits, be construed as including, in relation to the times, years or periods, circumstances or purposes in relation to which the corresponding provision in the repealed enactments applied or had applied, a reference to, or, as the case may be, to things done or to be done under or for the purposes of, that corresponding provision.

(5) Any reference, whether express or implied, in any enactment or document (including the repealed enactments and enactments passed and documents made)—

(a) to any provision of the repealed enactments, or

(b) to things done or to be done under or for the purposes of any provision of the repealed enactments,

shall, if and in so far as the nature of the reference permits, be construed as including, in relation to the times, years or periods, circumstances or purposes in relation to which the corresponding provision of this Chapter applies, a reference to, or as the case may be, to things done or deemed to be done or to be done under or for the purposes of, that corresponding provision.

(6) All officers who stood authorised or nominated for the purposes of any provision of the repealed enactments shall be deemed to be authorised or nominated, as the case may be, for the purposes of the corresponding provision of this Chapter.

(7) All instruments, documents, authorisations and letters or notices of appointment made or issued under the repealed enactments and in force immediately before the commencement of this provision shall continue in force as if made or issued under this Chapter.

108 Care and management of mineral oil tax.

108.—Mineral oil tax imposed by section 95 is hereby placed under the care and management of the Commissioners.

109 Commencement (Chapter 1).

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

Chapter 2 Miscellaneous

110 Hydrocarbons.

110.—The duty of excise on gaseous hydrocarbons in liquid form imposed by section 41(1) of the Finance Act, 1976, shall be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 3rd day of December, 1998, at the rate of £41.75 per 1,000 litres in lieu of the rate specified in section 69(3) of the Finance Act, 1993.

111 Tobacco products.

111.—(1) In this section and in Schedule 4—

“the Act of 1977” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977;

“cigarettes”, “cigars”, “fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes” and “smoking tobacco” have the same meanings as they have in the Act of 1977, as amended by section 86 of the Finance Act, 1997.

(2) The duty of excise on tobacco products imposed by section 2 of the Act of 1977, shall, in lieu of the several rates specified in Schedule 7 to the Finance Act, 1998, be charged, levied and paid, as on and from the 3rd day of December, 1998, at the several rates specified in Schedule 4.

112 Amendment of section 104 (excisable products) of Finance Act, 1992.

112.—(1) Chapter II of Part II of the Finance Act, 1992, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 104:

“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,

(c) made wine chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by paragraph 6(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) tobacco products chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by section 2 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977, and

(g) mineral oil chargeable with the duty of excise imposed by section 95 of the Finance Act, 1999, and which are products—

(i) specified in paragraph (1) of Article 2a of Council Directive No. 92/81/EEC of 19 October 1992[^1], or

(ii) which have been the subject, under paragraph (2) of the said Article 2a, of a decision to make such products subject to the control and movement provisions of the Directive.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

113 Amendment of Chapter II (Powers of Officers) of Part II of Finance Act, 1995.

113.—(1) Chapter II of Part II of the Finance Act, 1995, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 85, by the insertion of the following definitions after the definition of “excisable products”:

“‘fuel tank’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 94 of the Finance Act, 1999;

‘mineral oil’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 94 of the Finance Act, 1999;”,

(b) in section 86—

(i) in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) by the substitution for “of any fuel” of “, under section 86A, of any mineral oil”,

(ii) in paragraph (a) of subsection (4) by the substitution for “any fuel” of “any mineral oil”,

(c) by the insertion of the following section after section 86:

“Power to take samples and to question in relation to mineral oil in vehicles.

86A.—(1) An officer, on production of the authorisation of the officer if so requested by any person affected, or a member of the Garda Síochána may— (a) examine and take such samples of any mineral oil in any fuel tank or otherwise present on or in any vehicle, or anything attached to any vehicle, for use or capable of being used for combustion in the engine of the vehicle, whether or not the vehicle is attended, (b) examine or inspect any vehicle or anything attached to any vehicle for the purposes of paragraph (a), (c) require— (i) the owner of any vehicle, (ii) any person who for the time being stands registered as the owner of any vehicle in the register established under section 131 of the Finance Act, 1992, or the Roads Act, 1920, (iii) any director, manager or principal officer of such owner where the registered owner is not one or more individuals, or (iv) the person in charge of any vehicle, to furnish to such officer or member— (I) evidence of payment of tax imposed by section 95 of the Finance Act, 1999, at the rate applicable for use in a fuel tank, on any such mineral oil, (II) any other information in relation to such mineral oil as may reasonably be required and which is in the possession or procurement of the person, (d) enter and inspect any premises or other place (other than a dwelling) at any reasonable time for the purposes of this section and bring onto those premises any vehicle being used in the course of his or her duties, (e) make such search and investigation of such premises or place as he or she may think proper. (2) Any person who resists, obstructs or impedes an officer or a member of the Garda Síochána in the exercise of any power conferred on the officer or member by this section, or who fails or refuses to furnish any information required under subsection (1), or who gives any such information which is false or misleading shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of £1,000.”,

and

(d) by the insertion of the following section after section 87A:

“Power of arrest for certain mineral oil offences.	87B.—An officer or a member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant a person whom he or she has reasonable grounds to suspect is committing or has committed an offence under section 102(3) of the Finance Act, 1999.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

114 Amendment of section 105 (appeals to the Appeal Commissioners) of Finance Act, 1995.

114.—Section 105 of the Finance Act, 1995, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions of—

(a) Part 40, other than sections 942, 943 and (in so far as it relates to those sections) 944 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, and

(b) section 957 of that Act,

shall, with any necessary modifications, apply as they apply for the purpose of income tax.”.

115 Amendment of section 130 (interpretation) of Finance Act, 1992.

115.— Section 130 of the Finance Act, 1992, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “ambulance”:

“‘ambulance’ means a vehicle which is specially designed, constructed or adapted, and is primarily used following registration, for the conveyance of injured or seriously ill persons to a hospital on a stretcher and which is permanently fitted to accommodate and hold in position one or more standard stretchers;”.

116 Amendment of section 132 (charge of excise duty) of Finance Act, 1992.

116.—As respects vehicle registration tax charged, levied and paid as on and from the 1st day of January, 1999, section 132 of the Finance Act, 1992, is hereby amended, in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (a) (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992):

“(a) in case the vehicle the subject of the registration or declaration concerned is a category A vehicle which has an engine of a cylinder capacity exceeding 2,000 cubic centimetres, at the rate of an amount equal to 30 per cent. of the value of the vehicle or £250, whichever is the greater,

(aa) in case the vehicle the subject of the registration or declaration concerned is a category A vehicle which has an engine of a cylinder capacity exceeding 1,400 cubic centimetres but not exceeding 2,000 cubic centimetres, at the rate of an amount equal to 25 per cent. of the value of the vehicle or £250, whichever is the greater,”.

117 Bets, reduction in rate of excise duty.

117.—(1) The duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926, shall (subject to section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931) be charged, levied and paid on bets entered into, at the rate of five per cent. of the amount of the bet in lieu of the rate of ten per cent. mentioned in section 31 of the Finance Act, 1985.

(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may, by order, appoint.

118 Increase in penalties for betting offences.

118.—(1) The Finance Act, 1926, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 24, by the substitution in subsection (4) (as substituted by section 69(1)(a) of the Finance Act, 1982) of “£1,500” for “£800”, and

(b) in section 25, by the substitution in subsection (2) (as substituted by section 69(1)(b) of the Finance Act, 1982) of “£1,500” for “£800”.

(2) Section 2 of the Betting Act, 1931, is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (2) (as substituted by section 69(2) of the Finance Act, 1982) of “£1,500” for “£800”.

(3) Section 76 of the Finance Act, 1984, is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (8)(b) of “£1,500” for “£1,000”.

(4) Section 42 of the Finance Act, 1989, is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (3) of “£1,500” for “£1,000”.

PART 3 Value-Added Tax

119 Interpretation (Part 3).

119.—In this Part—

“the Principal Act” means the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972;

“the Act of 1978” means the Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 1978;

“the Act of 1992” means the Finance Act, 1992;

“the Act of 1995” means the Finance Act, 1995;

“the Act of 1997” means the Finance Act, 1997;

“the Act of 1998” means the Finance Act, 1998.

120 Amendment of section 3 (supply of goods) of Principal Act.

120.—Section 3 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) in paragraph (g) (inserted by the Act of 1992) of subsection (1) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) the transfer of goods to another person under the circumstances specified in paragraph (i) of the Second Schedule and the transfer of the goods referred to in paragraphs (v), (va), (vb) and (x) of the Second Schedule,”,

(b) in subsection (5) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) Where a person, in this subsection referred to as an ‘owner’—

(i) supplies financial services of the kind specified in subparagraph (i)(e) of the First Schedule in respect of a supply of goods within the meaning of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), being goods which are of such a kind or were used in such circumstances that no part of the tax, if any, chargeable on that supply of those goods was deductible by the person to whom that supply was made, and

(ii) enforces such owner's right to recover possession of those goods,

then the disposal of those goods by such owner shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act not to be a supply of goods.”,

and

(c) in paragraph (A) of the proviso (inserted by the European Communities (Value-Added Tax) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 413 of 1992)) to paragraph (d) of subsection (6) by the substitution of “£27,565” for “£27,000”.

121 Amendment of section 5 (supply of services) of Principal Act.

121.—Section 5 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (ddd) (inserted by the Act of 1998) in subsection (6):

“(dddd) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (5), the place of supply of services consisting of the hiring out of means of transport by a person established in the State shall be deemed to be outside the Community where such means of transport are, or are to be, effectively used and enjoyed outside the Community.”.

122 Special scheme for investment gold.

122.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 6:

“6A.—(1) (a) In this section—

‘intermediary’ means a person who intervenes for another person in a supply of investment gold while acting in the name and for the account of that other person;

‘investment gold’ means—

(i) gold in the form of—

(I) a bar, or

(II) a wafer,

of a weight accepted by a bullion market and of a purity equal to or greater than 995 parts per one thousand parts, and

(ii) gold coins which—

(I) are of a purity equal to or greater than 900 parts per one thousand parts,

(II) are minted after 1800,

(III) are or have been legal tender in their country of origin, and

(IV) are normally sold at a price which does not exceed the open market value of the gold contained in the coins by more than 80 per cent.

(b) For the purposes of the definition of investment gold in paragraph (a), gold coins which are listed in the ‘C’ series of the Official Journal of the European Communities as fulfilling the criteria referred to in that definition in respect of gold coins shall be deemed to fulfil the said criteria for the whole year for which the list is published.

(2) The provisions of this section shall apply to—

(a) investment gold which is represented by securities or represented by certificates for allocated or unallocated gold or traded on gold accounts and including, in particular, gold loans and swaps, involving a right of ownership or a claim in respect of investment gold, and

(b) transactions concerning investment gold involving futures and forward contracts leading to a transfer of a right of ownership or a claim in respect of investment gold.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of section 6, a person who produces investment gold or transforms any gold into investment gold, may, in accordance with conditions set out in regulations, waive such person's right to exemption from tax on a supply of investment gold to another person who is engaged in the supply of goods and services in the course or furtherance of business.

(4) Where a person waives, in accordance with subsection (3), such person's right to exemption from tax in respect of a supply of investment gold, an intermediary who supplies services in respect of that supply of investment gold may, in accordance with conditions set out in regulations, waive that intermediary's right to exemption from tax in respect of those services.

(5) (a) Where a person waives, in accordance with subsection (3), such person's right to exemption from tax in respect of a supply of investment gold, then, for the purposes of this Act, the person to whom the supply of investment gold is made shall, in relation thereto, be a taxable person and be liable to pay the tax chargeable on that supply as if such taxable person had made that supply of investment gold for consideration in the course or furtherance of business and the person who waived the right to exemption in respect of that supply shall not be liable to pay the said tax.

(b) Where a person is liable for tax in accordance with paragraph (a) in respect of a supply of investment gold, such person shall, notwithstanding the provisions of section 12, be entitled, in computing the amount of tax payable by such person in respect of the taxable period in which that liability to tax arises, to deduct the tax for which such person is liable on that supply, if such person's subsequent supply of that investment gold is exempt from tax.

(6) (a) A taxable person may, in computing the amount of tax payable by such person in respect of any taxable period and notwithstanding section 12, deduct—

(i) the tax charged to such person during that period by other taxable persons by means of invoices, prepared in the manner prescribed by regulations, in respect of supplies of gold to such person,

(ii) the tax chargeable during that period, being tax for which such person is liable in respect of intra-Community acquisitions of gold, and

(iii) the tax paid by such person, or deferred, as established from the relevant customs documents kept by such person in accordance with section 16(3) in respect of gold imported by such person in that period,

where that gold is subsequently transformed into investment gold and such person's subsequent supply of that investment gold is exempt from tax.

(b) A person may claim, in accordance with regulations, a refund of—

(i) the tax charged to such person on the purchase of gold, other than investment gold, by such person,

(ii) the tax chargeable to such person on the intra-Community acquisition of gold, other than investment gold, by such person, and

(iii) the tax paid or deferred on the importation by such person of gold other than investment gold,

where that gold is subsequently transformed into investment gold and such person's subsequent supply of that investment gold is exempt from tax.

(7) (a) A taxable person may, in computing the amount of tax payable by such person in respect of a taxable period and notwithstanding section 12, deduct the tax charged to such person during that period by other taxable persons by means of invoices, prepared in the manner prescribed by regulations, in respect of the supply to the first-mentioned person of services consisting of a change of form, weight or purity of gold where that person's subsequent supply of that gold is exempt from tax.

(b) A person may claim, in accordance with regulations, a refund of the tax charged to such person in respect of the supply to such person of services consisting of a change of form, weight or purity of gold where such person's subsequent supply of that gold is exempt from tax.

(8) (a) A taxable person who produces investment gold or transforms any gold into investment gold may, in computing the amount of tax payable by such person in respect of a taxable period and notwithstanding section 12, deduct—

(i) the tax charged to such person during that period by other taxable persons by means of invoices, prepared in the manner prescribed by regulations in respect of supplies of goods or services to the first-mentioned person,

(ii) the tax chargeable during that period, being tax for which such person is liable in respect of intra-Community acquisitions of goods, and

(iii) the tax paid by such person, or deferred, as established from the relevant customs documents kept by such person in accordance with section 16(3) in respect of goods imported by such person in that period,

where those goods or services are linked to the production or transformation of that gold, and such person's subsequent supply of that investment gold is exempt from tax.

(b) A person who produces investment gold or transforms any gold into investment gold may claim, in accordance with regulations, a refund of—

(i) the tax charged to such person on the purchase by such person of goods or services,

(ii) the tax chargeable to such person on the intra-Community acquisition of goods by such person, and

(iii) the tax paid or deferred by such person on the importation of goods by such person,

where those goods or services are linked to the production or transformation of that gold, and such person's subsequent supply of that gold is exempt from tax.”.

123 Amendment of section 8 (taxable persons) of Principal Act.

123.—Section 8 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subparagraph (ia) of paragraph (a) of subsection (3) by the substitution for “livestock”, in each place where it occurs, of “bovine”.

124 Amendment of section 10 (amount on which tax is chargeable) of Principal Act.

124.—Section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (4B) (inserted by the Act of 1992) by the substitution for “open market price” of “cost of the goods to the person making the supply or, in the absence of such a cost, the cost price of similar goods in the State, and where an intra-Community acquisition occurs in the State following a supply of goods in another Member State which, if such supply was carried out in similar circumstances in the State would be a supply of goods in accordance with section 3(1)(g), then the amount on which tax is chargeable in respect of that intra-Community acquisition shall be the cost to the person making the supply in that Member State or, in the absence of a cost to that person, the cost price of similar goods in that other Member State”.

125 Amendment of section 10A (margin scheme goods) of Principal Act.

125.—Section 10A (inserted by the Act of 1995) of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (1)—

(a) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “margin scheme goods”:

“‘margin scheme goods’ means any works of art, collectors' items, antiques or second-hand goods supplied within the Community to a taxable dealer—

(a) by a person, other than a person referred to in paragraph (c), who was not entitled to deduct, under section 12, any tax in respect of that person's purchase, intra-Community acquisition or importation of those goods:

Provided that person is not a taxable person who acquired those goods from—

(i) a taxable dealer who applied the margin scheme to the supply of those goods to that taxable person, or

(ii) an auctioneer within the meaning of section 10B who applied the auction scheme within the meaning of section 10B to the supply of those goods to that taxable person,

or

(b) by a person in another Member State who was not entitled to deduct, under the provisions implementing Article 17 of Council Directive No. 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977, in that Member State, any value-added tax referred to in that Directive in respect of that person's purchase, intra-Community acquisition or importation of those goods, or

(c) by another taxable dealer who has applied the margin scheme to the supply of those goods or applied the provisions implementing Article 26a (inserted by Council Directive No. 94/5/EC of 14 February 1994) of Council Directive No. 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977, in another Member State to the supply of those goods,

and also includes goods acquired by a taxable dealer as a result of a disposal of goods by a person to such taxable dealer where that disposal was deemed not to be a supply of goods in accordance with section 3(5)(c).”,

and

(b) in the definition of “second-hand goods” by the insertion after “means of transport,” of “agricultural machinery (within the meaning of section 12C),”.

126 Amendment of section 10B (special scheme for auctioneers) of Principal Act.

126.—Section 10B (inserted by the Act of 1995) of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the insertion in the definition of “auction scheme goods” of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) an owner within the meaning of section 3(5)(c) who enforced such owner's right to recover possession of those goods under the circumstances set out in section 3(5)(c), or”.

127 Amendment of section 11 (rates of tax) of Principal Act.

127.—Section 11 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (1) (inserted by the Act of 1992) by the substitution in paragraph (f) of “4 per cent” for “3.6 per cent” (inserted by the Act of 1998).

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

128.—Section 12 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of—

(a) the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iiid) (inserted by the Act of 1997):

“(iiie) the tax chargeable during the period, being tax for which he is liable by virtue of section 6A(5)(a) in respect of investment gold (within the meaning of section 6A) received by him,”

and

(b) the following subparagraph after subparagraph (vi) (inserted by the Act of 1995):

“(via) the residual tax referred to in section 12C, being residual tax contained in the price charged to him for the purchase of agricultural machinery (within the meaning of section 12C), by means of invoices issued to him during the period by flat-rate farmers,”.

129 Amendment of section 12A (special provisions for tax invoiced by flat-rate farmers) of Principal Act.

129.—Section 12A (inserted by the Act of 1978) of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of “4 per cent” for “3.6 per cent” (inserted by the Act of 1998).

130 Amendment of section 12B (special scheme for means of transport supplied by taxable dealers) of Principal Act.

130.—Section 12B (inserted by the Act of 1995) of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) by the insertion of “(other than in the circumstances where an owner as referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section 3, enforces such owner's right to recover possession of a means of transport)” after “purchases or acquires”, and

(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) a means of transport from a person where the disposal of that means of transport by such person to such taxable dealer was deemed not to be a supply of goods in accordance with section 3(5)(c), or”,

and

(b) in subsection (3) in the definition of “means of transport” by the insertion after “other than” of “agricultural machinery (within the meaning of section 12C), and”.

131 Special scheme for agricultural machinery.

131.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 12B (inserted by the Act of 1995):

“12C.—(1) A taxable dealer who purchases agricultural machinery from a flat-rate farmer shall, subject to the provisions of this section and in accordance with subparagraph (via) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 12, be entitled to deduct the residual tax contained in the price payable by such taxable dealer in respect of that purchase.

(2) A flat-rate farmer who supplies agricultural machinery to a taxable dealer shall, subject to section 17(2A), issue an invoice in respect of that supply.

(3) The residual tax referred to in subsection (1) shall be determined by the formula—

	A x	B
	B + 100

where—

A is the purchase price of the agricultural machinery payable by the taxable dealer, and

B is the percentage rate of tax specified in section 11(1)(a).

(4) Where a taxable dealer supplies agricultural machinery in respect of which such dealer was entitled to deduct residual tax and where the tax chargeable in respect of that supply is less than the residual tax deducted by that dealer in respect of the purchase of that machinery, then the excess of the residual tax over the tax payable on that supply shall be deemed to be tax chargeable in respect of that supply.

(5) In this section—

‘agricultural machinery’ means machinery or equipment, other than a motor vehicle as defined in subsection (3) of section 12, which has been used by a flat-rate farmer for the purpose of such farmer's Annex A activity in circumstances where any tax charged on the supply of that machinery or equipment to that farmer would have been deductible by such farmer if such farmer had elected to be a taxable person at the time of that supply of the machinery or equipment to such farmer;

‘taxable dealer’ means a taxable person who in the course or furtherance of business, whether acting on that person's own behalf, or on behalf of another person pursuant to a contract under which commission is payable on purchase or sale, purchases agricultural machinery as stock-in-trade with a view to resale.”.

132 Amendment of section 13 (remission of tax on goods exported, etc.) of Principal Act.

132.—Section 13 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in paragraph (iii) of subsection (1A) (inserted by the Act of 1997) by the insertion after “the supply,” of “and where an amount so notified is expressed in terms of a percentage or a fraction, such percentage or fraction shall relate to the tax remitted or repayable under this subsection,”.

133 Amendment of section 16 (duty to keep records) of Principal Act.

133.—Section 16 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) Every person who trades in investment gold (within the meaning of section 6A) shall, in accordance with regulations, keep full and true records of that person's transactions in investment gold.”.

134 Amendment of section 17 (invoices) of Principal Act.

134.—Section 17 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2) (inserted by the Act of 1978):

“(2A) A flat-rate farmer who, in accordance with section 12C, is required to issue an invoice in respect of a supply of agricultural machinery shall, in respect of each supply, issue an invoice in the form and containing such particulars as may be specified by regulations if the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the issue of the invoice is requested by the taxable dealer,

(b) the taxable dealer provides the form for the purpose of the invoice and enters the appropriate particulars thereon, and

(c) the taxable dealer gives to the flat-rate farmer a copy of the invoice,

but may issue the invoice if those conditions or any one of them are not fulfilled.”.

135 Amendment of section 19 (tax due and payable) of Principal Act.

135.—Section 19 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in clause (I) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subsection (4) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1993) by the insertion after “registration of the vehicle” of “or, if section 131 of the Finance Act, 1992, does not provide for registration of the vehicle, at a time not later than the time when the tax is due in accordance with subsection (1A)”.

136 Generation of estimates and assessments by electronic, photographie or other process.

136.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 22:

“22A.—For the purposes of this Act and regulations, where an officer of the Revenue Commissioners nominated in accordance with regulations for the purposes of section 22 or an inspector of taxes or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised for the purposes of section 23, or any other officer of the Revenue Commissioners acting with the knowledge of such nominated officer or such inspector or such authorised officer causes to issue, manually or by any electronic, photographic or other process, a notice of estimation or assessment of tax bearing the name of such nominated officer or such inspector or such authorised officer, that estimate or assessment to which the notice of estimation or assessment of tax relates shall be deemed—

(a) in the case of an estimate made under section 22, to have been made by such nominated officer, and

(b) in the case of an assessment made under section 23, to have been made by such inspector or such authorised officer, as the case may be, to the best of such inspector's or such authorised officer's opinion.”.

137 Amendment of section 32 (regulations) of Principal Act.

137.—Section 32 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the insertion of the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (h):

(ha) the keeping by persons trading in investment gold (within the meaning of section 6A) of records and the retention of such records and supporting documents or other recorded data;

(hb) the conditions under which a person may waive his right to exemption from tax on the supply of investment gold (within the meaning of section 6A);

(hc) the conditions under which an intermediary (within the meaning of section 6A) may waive his right to exemption from tax on his supply of services;

(hd) the conditions under which a person may claim a refund of tax in accordance with subsections (6)(b), (7)(b) and (8)(b) of section 6A, and the manner in which such refund may be claimed;”.

138 Amendment of First Schedule to Principal Act.

138.—The First Schedule (inserted by the Act of 1978) to the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion in subparagraph (g) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991) of paragraph (i) of the following clause after clause (I):

“(Ia) a special investment scheme within the meaning of section 737 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, or”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (xviii):