S.I. No. 415/1979 - Imposition of Duties (No. 244) (Excise Duties on Spirits, Beer and Hydrocarbon Oils) Order, 1979.

S.I. No. 415 of 1979.

IMPOSITION OF DUTIES (NO. 244) (EXCISE DUTIES ON SPIRITS, BEER AND HYDROCARBON OILS) ORDER, 1979.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 1 of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 (No. 7 of 1957), section 22 of the Finance Act, 1962 (No. 15 of 1962), and section 46 of the Finance Act, 1975 (No. 6 of 1975), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Imposition of Duties (No. 244) (Excise Duties on Spirits, Beer and Hydrocarbon Oils) Order, 1979.

2. This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1980.

3. (1) In this Order—

"% vol" means alcoholic strength by volume;

"alcohol" means pure ethyl alcohol;

"alcoholic strength by volume" means the ratio of the volume of alcohol present in a product at a temperature of 20°C to the total volume of the product at the same temperature, the said ratio being expressed as a percentage;

"spirits" means spirits of any description and includes all liquors mixed with spirits and all mixtures, compounds or preparations made with spirits.

(2) References in any statute or instrument made under statute to the strength of spirits shall be construed as references to their alcoholic strength by volume.

(3) Any computation of the volume of spirits shall be made at a temperature of 20°C.

4. (1) In this paragraph—

"the Act of 1979" means the Finance Act, 1979 (No. 11 of 1979);

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

(2) The duty of excise on spirits imposed by paragraph 4 (2) of the Order of 1975 shall be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in the second column of the First Schedule to this Order in lieu of the several rates specified in the Third Schedule to the Act of 1979 and the additional duty of excise imposed by the said paragraph 4 (2) on immature spirits that have not been warehoused or have been warehoused for less than three years shall be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in the third column of the First Schedule to this Order, in lieu of the several rates specified in the third column of the First Schedule to the Order of 1975.

(3) Paragraph 4 (4) of the Order of 1975 is hereby amended by the substitution of "£0.013 per litre of alcohol in the spirits" for "£0.0334 per proof gallon".

(4) Allowances payable in respect of spirits under any statute or instrument made under statute relating to customs or excise shall, in lieu of being payable at the rates of £0.0125 for every gallon computed at hydrometer proof and £0.0209 for every gallon computed at hydrometer proof, be payable at the rates of £0.004 per litre of alcohol in the spirits and £0.008 per litre of alcohol in the spirits, respectively.

5. In any case where, before the 1st day of January,1980, a quantity of spirits was computed in proof gallons for the purposes of the duties of excise or the Statutes which relate to those duties or of any instrument made under Statute relating to those duties and the management thereof and it is necessary, for any of those purposes, to compute the said quantity in litres of alcohol, the latter computation, in lieu of being made in accordance with the provisions of this Order (other than this paragraph) or other statutory instrument or enactment, may be made by multiplying the quantity computed in proof gallons by 2.595.

6. The provisions of an enactment or order specified in column (4) of the Second Schedule to this Order at any reference number are hereby amended by the substitution of the words or expression mentioned in column (3) of that Schedule at that reference number for the words or expression mentioned in column (2) of that Schedule at that reference number wherever the latter words or expression occur in the said provisions.

7. The Spirits Act, 1880, is hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5) of section 37:

"(5) The degrees of gravity shown, in a table prescribed for the purposes of this action, opposite the spirit indication determined in accordance with subsection (4), added to the specific gravity of the spent wash, shall be deemed to be the original gravity of the wort",

( b ) by the substitution in subsection (4) of section 40 of—

(i) "alcohol" for "proof spirits", and

(ii) "1.25 litres for every hectolitre of wash in respect of every 8.8 degrees of attenuation, that is to say, in respect of every 8.8 degrees of difference" for "one gallon and a quarter for every hundred gallons of wash in respect of every five degrees of attenuation, that is to say, in respect of every five degrees of difference", and

(iii) "fifty pence for every hectolitre" for "sixpence for every gallon",

( c ) by the deletion of "computed at proof", wherever that phrase occurs in sections 44 (2), 65 (2), 81 (6), 94 (3), 103 (2) and 125 (1),

( d ) by the substitution in section 46 (2) of—

(i) "hectolitre" for "one hundred gallons", and

(ii) "one litre of alcohol for every 8.8 degrees of attenuation, that is to say, for every 8.8 degrees of difference" for "one gallon of spirits at proof for every five degrees of attenuation, that is to say, for every five degrees of difference",

( e ) by the substitution of "a prescribed Table" for "Table B in the Second Schedule" in section 114, as modified by section 19 (3) of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and

( f ) by the deletion of section 133.

8. Section 8 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1881, is hereby amended by the deletion of "by the said hydrometer".

9. Section 7 (1) of the Finance Act, 1914 (Session 2) is hereby amended by the substitution of "such revised table as may be prescribed for the purpose" for "the revised table an original copy of which, marked Table A, has been signed by the Chairman of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, and deposited in the office of the King's Remembrancer at the Royal Courts of Justice".

10. This Order, so far as it relates to duties of excise on imported goods, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and, so far as it relates to goods produced or manufactured in the 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.

FIRST SCHEDULE

RATES OF EXCISE DUTY ON SPIRITS

SECOND SCHEDULE

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 20th day of

December, 1979.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order provides for the expression of strength of spirits, for excise purposes, by reference to alcoholic strength by volume (in lieu of the present "proof" method) and of rates of excise duty and allowances applicable to spirits in terms of alcohol content. It also provides for the metrication of the rates of excise duty and allowances on spirits and, in compliance with EEC Council Directive 71/354 as amended, for the substitution of appropriate Celsius temperature values for Fahrenheit values and for other ancillary changes in excise legislation relating to spirits, beer and hydrocarbon oils.