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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Apr 1968

Vol. 234 No. 1

Financial Resolutions. - Financial Resolution No. 4: Customs and Excise—Tobacco.

I move:

(1) That, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Resolution, the duty of customs on tobacco imposed by section 20 of the Finance Act, 1932 (No. 20 of 1932), shall, as and from the 24th day of April, 1968, be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in Part I of the Schedule to this Resolution in lieu of the several rates specified in Parts I, II and III of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1967 (No. 17 of 1967).

(2) That the provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duty mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Resolution—

(a) with the substitution of "the area of application of the Acts of the Oireachtas" for "Great Britain and Ireland" and

(b) as though the descriptions of manufactured tobacco mentioned in Part I of the Schedule to this Resolution were included in the first column of the Second Schedule to that Act after the expression "manufactured tobacco" and the appropriate preferential rates mentioned in that Part were mentioned in the second column of the said Second Schedule opposite the mention of those goods in the first column thereof in lieu of the rate mentioned in the said second column opposite the mention of manufactured tobacco in the said first column

(3) That—

(a) this paragraph applies to manufactured tobacco which was manufactured in, and consigned from, the United Kingdom and was manufactured therein from materials other than materials falling within Tariff Heading number 24.02 in the Schedule to the Imposition of Duties (No. 159) (Customs Duties and Form of Customs Tariff) Order, 1966 (S.I. No. 132 of 1966).

(b) the customs duty on tobacco mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Resolution shall, as on and from the 24th day of April, 1968, and before the 1st day of July, 1968, be charged, levied and paid on manufactured tobacco to which this paragraph applies at the several rates specified in Part II of the Schedule to this Resolution in lieu of the several rates specified in Part I thereof and shall, as on and from the 1st day of July, 1968, be charged, levied and paid on manufactured tobacco to which this paragraph applies at the several rates specified in Part III of the Schedule to this Resolution in lieu of the several rates specified in Parts I and II thereof.

(c) the provisions of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, shall apply to the duties imposed by this paragraph—

(i) with the substitution of "the area of application of the Acts of the Oireachtas" for "Great Britain and Ireland" and as though the expression "manufactured tobacco" in the first column of the Second Schedule to that Act did not include manufactured tobacco to which this paragraph applies.

(ii) as though manufactured tobacco to which this paragraph applies, together with the descriptions of such manufactured tobacco in Part II or III (as may be appropriate) of the Schedule to this Resolution, were mentioned separately in the said first column and the appropriate preferential rates specified in that Part were mentioned in the second column of the said Second Schedule opposite the mention of those goods in the first column thereof, and

(iii) subject to the last paragraph (beginning with "Goods shall not be deemed") of subsection (1) of the said section 8 being disregarded.

(d) in this paragraph the expression "the United Kingdom" means Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

(e) the expression "hard pressed tobacco" mentioned in Parts II and III of the Schedule to this Resolution and the next subparagraph of this paragraph has the same meaning as it has in section 17 of the Finance Act, 1940 (No. 14 of 1940).

(f) the expression "other pipe tobacco" mentioned in Parts II and III of the Schedule to this Resolution means manufactured tobacco of kinds normally intended to be used in pipes, not being hard pressed tobacco.

(4) That the duty of excise on tobacco imposed by section 19 of the Finance Act, 1934 (No. 31 of 1934), shall, as on and from the 24th day of April, 1968, be charged, levied and paid at the several rates specified in Part IV of the Schedule to this Resolution in lieu of the several rates specified in Part IV of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1967.

(5) That, subject to the provisions of paragraph (6) of this Resolution, there shall be charged, levied and paid on all stocks of tobacco of every description which at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd day of April, 1968, are in the ownership or possession of a licensed manufacturer of tobacco and in any place in the State other than a bonded warehouse, a duty of excise, payable by the manufacturer, at the following rate, that is to say:

(a) so far as the stocks consist of unmanufactured tobacco, three shillings and five pence for every pound weight of the stocks, and

(b) so far as the stocks consist of tobacco (including snuff) other than unmanufactured tobacco, three shillings and five pence for every pound weight of unmanufactured tobacco from which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, the stocks were derived.

(6) That the duty provided for by paragraph (5) of this Resolution shall not be chargeable on any manufactured tobacco (including cigarettes, cigars and snuff other than offal snuff) as to which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that it was at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd day of April, 1968, fully prepared for sale by retail and that either—

(i) it was not the product of any operation carried out by any manufacturer in whose ownership or possession it was at that time; or

(ii) it was at that time held as retail stock in premises used for selling tobacco by retail; or

(iii) it was at that time in transit from seller to buyer under a contract of sale:

Provided that no tobacco shall be deemed for the purposes of this paragraph to have been fully prepared for sale by retail if, according to the ordinary course of business of the person in whose ownership or possession it was or to whom it was in transit, it had still to be subjected to some further process (other than packing) before being sold by him.

(7) That every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall not later than the 30th day of April, 1968, make a return to the Revenue Commissioners in a form approved by them giving such information as they may thereby require and, in particular, showing the quantities by weight of tobacco of every description in his ownership or possession at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd day of April, 1968, in any place in the State other than a bonded warehouse.

(8) That every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall—

(a) produce, if so required, to any officer of Customs and Excise the trade books and all accounts and documents belonging to or in the possession of such manufacturer which are necessary for verifying the return made in pursuance of paragraph (7) of this Resolution, and

(b) render all reasonable assistance to such officer in the taking of an account of the tobacco which was in the ownership or possession of such manufacturer at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd day of April, 1968.

(9) That every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall, immediately upon making the return required by paragraph (7) of this Resolution or on the 30th day of April, 1968, whichever is the earlier, pay to the Revenue Commissioners the full amount of the duty mentioned in paragraph (5) of this Resolution on any tobacco which was in his ownership or possession at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd day of April, 1968, and was chargeable with the said duty, and the Revenue Commissioners may, if they think fit, defer the payment of the duty to a date not later than the 1st day of November, 1968, upon the manufacturer giving security by bond or otherwise to their satisfaction that such duty will be paid.

(10) That every manufacturer required by paragraph (7) 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 (8) 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 tobacco in relation to which such offence was committed shall be forfeited.

(11) That where drawback is payable in respect of tobacco on which the excise duty provided for by paragraph (5) of this Resolution has been paid, such drawback shall, to the extent of the duty paid in pursuance of the said paragraph (5) as determined by the Revenue Commissioners, be a drawback of excise.

(12) 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).

SCHEDULE.

DUTIES ON TOBACCO.

PART I.

Customs.

Unmanufactured:—

£

s.

d.

if stripped or stemmed:—

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture the lb.

3

19

8

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

4

8

6

if unstripped or unstemmed:—

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture

3

19

7.5

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

4

8

5.5

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:—

cigars the lb.

4

18

5.6

4

2

7.5

cigarettes

4

16

2

4

0

8.5

Cavendish or Negro-head

4

17

10.4

4

2

1.5

Cavendish or Negro-head

manufactured in bond

4

17

3.2

4

1

7.5

other manufactured tobacco

4

15

10.4

4

0

5.5

snuff containing more than 13 per cent. by weight of moisture

4

15

5.6

4

0

1.5

snuff containing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

4

17

10.4

4

2

1.5

PART II.

Customs.

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:—

cigars the lb.

4

13

8.3

4

2

7.5

cigarettes

4

11

5.3

4

0

8.5

Cavendish or Negro-head

4

13

1.5

4

2

1.5

Cavendish or Negro-head manufactured in bond

4

12

6.7

4

1

7.5

other manufactured tobacco:—

hard pressed tobacco

4

6

5.3

3

15

8.5

other pipe tobacco

4

10

3.5

3

19

6.7

other manufactured tobacco

4

11

2.3

4

0

5.5

snuff containing

more than 13 per cent. by weight moisture

4

10

9.5

4

0

1.5

snuff containing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

4

13

1.5

4

2

1.5

PART III.

Customs.

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:—

cigars the lb.

4

12

3.7

4

2

7.5

cigarettes

4

10

1.2

4

0

8.5

Cavendish

or Negro-head

the lb.

4

11

9

4

2

1.5

Cavendish or Negro-head manufactured in bond ,, ,,

4

11

2.3

4

1

7.5

other manufactured tobacco:—

hard pressed tobacco

4

2

8.7

3

13

4

other pipe tobacco

4

8

6

3

19

1.3

other manufactured tobacco

4

9

10.2

4

0

5.5

snuff containing more than 13 per cent. by weight of moisture

4

9

5.5

4

0

1.5

snuff containing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

4

11

9

4

2

1.5

Excise.

£

s.

d.

Unmanufactured:—

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture the lb.

3

18

6.5

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

4

7

3

Manufactured:—

Cavendish or Negrohead manufactured in bond

4

0

6.5

Can the Minister give me information as to the present tax on the 20 packet of cigarettes, standard size, the 20 packet of cigarettes, tipped size, and on the ounce of tobacco, pressed and non-pressed? These figures should be made available to the public, to the smokers, because they are making a vital contribution.

Is this Resolution in standard form? It looks much longer than usual.

There is a complication on account of the Free Trade Area Agreement. It is in three parts.

It is much longer than usual.

We have to have a certain rate from now until 30th June in so far as imports from the UK are concerned.

Is hard pressed tobacco covered? Is it out?

It is the same as the rest.

Is hard pressed plug getting a rebate?

The twopence is on it.

Will the Minister now give us the new figures?

What precisely is the Deputy looking for?

What is the present tax on a packet of cigarettes, standard and tipped, and on an ounce of hard pressed tobacco?

On the packet of 20 cigarettes, plain, to which this duty applies, the duty now will be 3/7.3d.

So the duty is 3/7.3d out of 5/-.

On tipped cigarettes per packet of 20 the duty is 2/9.9d. On 20 king-sized tipped cigarettes, the duty now will be 3/3.6d. On an ounce of hard pressed tobacco it will be 2/8.67d to 2/9.97d and on flaked and other tobacco the duty will be 4/0.10d to 4/4.90d.

Is the Minister quoting the difference between the old and the new?

Does this mean that as a result of this taxation the duty on plug tobacco will now be 2/8d to 2/9d an ounce?

Roughly 2/8½d to 2/10d.

It used to be 2/6d.

It was 2/6d to 2/7.7d.

Up to now an effort was made frequently, and successfully, to exclude plug tobacco from the effects of the tobacco duty.

If we exempted home-made plug tobacco we would have to give a similar rebate to imported plug.

That is not the excuse the Minister gave last year. The Minister's predecessor said it was because 78 per cent of pipe smokers smoked hard pressed tobacco.

It has a rebate already. The point is that it is not being given an additional rebate.

When did it get a rebate last? Years back.

It has a rebate of about 1/6d per ounce.

Does it not come down to the situation that the person who smokes tipped cigarettes will pay 2d. per 20 more and that the old-age pensioner smoking plug will pay precisely the same rate?

No, the existing rebate applies.

But he will pay the same rate of increase.

Yes, but most old-age pensioners smoke cigarettes.

They buy them in twos and threes. Would the Minister say if this year any effort is being made by him to collect the difference between the duty on plain cigarettes and the tipped variety? The excess profit in this differential, maintained in the last two Budgets, was raked in by the manufacturers.

We have brought it down to a fine art. We have had complete agreement this year and last year with the manufacturers.

Does this include a tax on stocks?

Last year the Minister said the money saved or made by the manufacturers on tipped cigarettes would be used to improve the product. That is on record. I do not think there has been any improvement in the product. The only improvement has been in the bank balances of the people running the factories.

I always thought the Deputy did not smoke.

Before putting the Resolution, would the Minister comment on the consumption of tobacco? Is it increasing or decreasing? Does he differ from his colleague, the Minister for Health, who may be telling the people down the country that they should not smoke?

The consumption of tobacco is increasing and in common with my colleague, the Minister for Health, I deplore this fact.

Is that Deputy Haughey or the Minister for Finance?

Has the Minister taken into account, in imposing this extra duty, the increase in consumption and the likely increase, therefore, in revenue?

We accept the proposition that this increased duty will bring in this much extra——

But this is not on decreased consumption.

I am not an economist.

In percentages, what is the increased rate on the ounce of tobacco—is it 10 per cent or 15 per cent or 20 per cent?

I could not tell. These are very complicated calculations. The Revenue Commissioners allow for certain declines in consumption and they say that as a result of taxation the net extra yield will be so much.

I suppose the Minister takes a two per cent decrease for the early part of the year.

As the oldest man in the House, I advise every Deputy to smoke a pipe and there would be a lot fewer of you dying of heart failure.

The Minister is taxing pipe tobacco.

Question put and agreed to.
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