Section 94 relates to penalties. I notice that all the penalties are Revenue penalties, so I take it that the £1,000 is an actual penalty rather than a maximum penalty, as it would be in a District Court. Is that correct?
SECTION 94.
Question proposed: "That section 94 stand part of the Bill."
The Deputy is correct, it is an actual fine, not a maximum one.
Would the usual discretion of the Revenue Commissioners to have a maximum penalty apply?
The courts can mitigate that by 50 per cent.
But the Revenue Commissioners can also mitigate it by 50 per cent.
It is the courts who normally mitigate it, but it can be the Revenue. The Revenue Commissioners have compromise powers and they apply.
Will there be no penalties on indictment. Will they all be on summary conviction?
They are on summary conviction but some are specified in other sections as indictable. They are set out in other sections.
It appears that the preservation of the Revenue is always an important aspect of policy and that the fines can vary at the discretion of the courts, a fine of £1,000 could mean a £500 fine.
Does the Deputy mean that it should read £500?
No, in practice £1,000 usually means £500, especially for a first or second offence.
Because of the powers of the courts or Revenue.
It would probably be on a third offence that the fine would be £1,000. Does the Minister think that is sufficient in something as vital to Exchequer yields as excise duty on alcohol?
Section 92 (b) states that on conviction on indictment, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise, as the case may be, a person is liable to a fine of three times the amount of the duty concerned, or £10,000, whichever is the greater. The summary conviction is considered a relatively minor offence, probably on first charge. We are concerned about the loss of revenue. There are different rates in different sections.
The Minister has identified section 92, all the rest of the sections appear to be summary conviction at £1,000.
There are others, but I do not know offhand what they are.
I will not pursue the point.
Most of them are considered to be minor but where people defy the regulations on a number of occasions the fines can be——
There is but one Deputy Ahern, who can be that informal with me in this House.
Especially if one has a brewery in one's constituency and one is in the legal profession.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 95 and 96 agreed to.