Finance Act, 1935

Payment of money standing in names of two or more persons.

33.—(1) Where, either before or after the passing of this Act, a sum of money exceeding one hundred pounds is lodged or deposited (otherwise than on a current account) in Saorstát Eireann with a banker in the joint names of two or more persons, and one of such persons (in this section referred to as the deceased) dies after the passing of this Act, such banker shall not pay such money or any part thereof to the survivor or all or any of the survivors of such person or to any other person unless or until there is furnished to such banker a certificate by the Revenue Commissioners (acting by any of such Commissioners or by any of their officers) certifying that there is no outstanding claim for duty in connection with the death of the deceased in respect of such money or any part thereof.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (7) of section 6 of the Finance Act, 1894 , duty leviable and payable on the death of the deceased shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to become due on the day of the death of the deceased.

(3) Every banker who shall pay any money in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of five hundred pounds.

(4) Where a banker is charged with an offence under this section, the onus of proving that such certificate as is mentioned in this section was furnished to such banker before he made the payment which is alleged to constitute such offence shall lie on such banker.

(5) Where a banker is charged with an offence under this section, it shall be a good defence to such charge to prove that, at the time when such banker made the payment of money which is alleged to constitute such offence, he had reasonable ground for believing that none of the persons in whose joint names such money was lodged or deposited with him was dead.

(6) In this section—

the word “banker” means a person who carries on in Saorstát Eireann the business of banking;

the word “pay” includes transfer in the books of a banker;

the expression “current account” means an account which is customarily operated upon by means of cheque or banker's order.