Finance Act, 1982

Levy on certain premiums of insurance.

92.—(1) In this section—

“assessable amount”, in relation to a quarter, means the gross amount received by an insurer by way of premiums in that quarter in respect of business carried on by the insurer in the State on or after the 1st day of August, 1982, but without having regard to an excluded amount;

“excluded amount” means—

(a) an amount received in the course or by way of re-insurance;

(b) a premium received in respect of business in the following classes of the Annex to First Council Directive 73/239/EEC of 24 July 1973 (OJ No. L228, 16/8/1973), namely, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12, in classes 1 and 10 insofar as they relate to the insurance of passengers in marine and aviation vehicles and carriers liability insurance, respectively, and in class 14 insofar as it relates to export credit;

(c) a premium received in respect of business in class VII of the Annex to First Council Directive 79/267/EEC of 5 March 1979 (OJ No. L 63,13/3/1979);

“insurer” means a person who is the holder of an assurance licence under the Insurance Act, 1936 , or is the holder of an authorisation within the meaning of the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. No. 115 of 1976), or who carries on the business of insurance in compliance with the provisions of the Assurance Companies Act, 1909 ;

“premium” has the same meaning as in the Insurance Act, 1936 ;

“quarter” means a period of three months ending on the 31st day of March, the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September or the 31st day of December.

(2) An insurer shall, within 30 days from the end of the quarter ending on the 30th day of September, 1982, and within 30 days from the end of each quarter thereafter, deliver to the Revenue Commissioners a statement in writing showing the assessable amount for that insurer in respect of that quarter.

(3) There shall be charged on every statement delivered in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section a stamp duty of an amount equal to one per cent. of the assessable amount shown therein.

(4) The duty charged by subsection (3) of this section upon a statement delivered by an insurer pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be paid by the insurer upon delivery of the statement.

(5) There shall be furnished to the Revenue Commissioners by an insurer such particulars as the Revenue Commissioners may deem necessary in relation to any statement required by this section to be delivered by the insurer.

(6) In the case of failure by an insurer to deliver any statement required by subsection (2) of this section within the time specified in that subsection or of failure by an insurer to pay any duty chargeable on any such statement on the delivery thereof, the insurer shall be liable to pay, in addition to the duty, interest thereon at the rate of 15 per cent. per annum from the expiration of the quarter to which the statement relates until the day on which the duty is paid.

(7) The delivery of any statement required by subsection (2) of this section may be enforced by the Revenue Commissioners under section 47 of the Succession Duty Act, 1853 , in all respects as if such statement were such account as is mentioned in that section and the failure to deliver such statement were such default as is mentioned in that section.