Resolution No. 10—Excise.
(1) That there shall be charged, leived, and paid on all tea which on the 12th day of May, 1932, is in Saorstát Eireann in the ownership or possession of a person who has in his ownership or possession in Saorstát Eireann on that date more than one thousand pounds of tea, a duty of excise at the rate of fourpence on the pound.
(2) That the duty mentioned in this Resolution shall not be charged or levied on any tea which is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to have been intended for use (otherwise than in the preparation of a beverage for sale) by the person in whose ownership or possession it was on the 12th day of May, 1932, and not to have been intended for sale or for use in the preparation of a beverage for sale, and no such tea shall be reckoned in computing for the purpose of the preceding paragraph of this Resolution the amount of tea in the ownership or possession of such person on the said date.
(3) That every person who on the 12th day of May, 1932, has in his ownership or possession any tea liable to the duty mentioned in this Resolution and also every person required by the Revenue Commissioners to make such return as is mentioned in this paragraph shall, on or before the 19th day of May, 1932, make to the Revenue Commissioners on a form to be prescribed by the Revenue Commissioners a return containing:—
(a) a statement, in the terms and with the particulars indicated in the said form, of all tea which was in his ownership or possession in Saorstát Eireann on the 12th day of May, 1932, and
(b) a statement, in the terms and with the particulars indicated in the said form, of all the premises in which such tea or any part thereof was stored on the said date, together with such particulars in respect of the tea so stored in each of such premises as are indicated in the said form, and
(c) a statement, in the terms and with the particulars indicated in the said form, of the tea in his ownership or possession in Saorstát Eireann on the 12th day of May, 1932, which was in transit on that date.
(4) That every return made in pursuance of paragraph (3) of this Resolution shall be verified by a statutory declaration made by the person required to make such return or, where such person is a corporate body, by a director or principal officer of such corporate body.
(5) That every person who is required by paragraph (3) of this Resolution to make such return as is mentioned in that paragraph shall, immediately upon making such return or on the 19th day of May, 1932, whichever is the earlier, either pay to the Revenue Commissioners the full amount of the duty mentioned in this Resolution on any tea which was in his ownership or possession on the 12th day of May, 1932, and was chargeable with the said duty, or deposit such tea in a bonded warehouse approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the deposit of tea.
(6) That every person who is required by paragraph (3) of this Resolution to make such return as is mentioned in that paragraph shall:—
(a) allow any officer of customs and excise to enter at any reasonable time any premises in the occupation of such person and to take an account of all tea in such premises, and
(b) produce to such officer the trade books and all accounts and documents belonging to or in the possession of such person which are necessary for verifying the return made by such person in pursuance of paragraph (3) of this Resolution, and
(c) permit such officer to take such samples of the tea in the said premises as such officer shall think necessary, and
(d) render all reasonable assistance to such officer in the taking of an account of the tea which was in the ownership or possession of such person on the 12th day of May, 1932.
(7) That every person required by paragraph (3) of this Resolution to make such return as is mentioned in that paragraph who either fails to make such return, or makes a return which is incomplete, false, or misleading in any material respect or fails or refuses to do anything which he is required by paragraph (5) of this Resolution to do shall be guilty of an offence under the statutes relating to duties of excise and shall for every such offence incur an excise penalty of fifty pounds, and all tea in relation to which such offence was committed shall be forfeited.
(8) It is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).
I move amendments 20 and 21, as follows:—
20. Before paragraph (6), page 16, to insert a new paragraph as follows:—
"(6) That whenever any duty mentioned in this Resolution is payable in respect of any tea (whether at the time mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this Resolution or on the removal of such tea from a bonded warehouse in which it had been deposited in pursuance of that paragraph), the Revenue Commissioners may, in lieu of immediate payment of the full amount of such duty, accept immediate payment of one-half of such duty, together with a bond with sureties approved of by the Revenue Commissioners for payment of the other half of such duty on or before the 19th day of August, 1932."
21. In paragraph (1), page 15, line 22, to delete the words "the pound" and substitute the words "every pound of such tea after the first five hundred pounds thereof."
Amendments agreed to.
Resolution, as amended, agreed to.
