This Bill is a machinery Bill, and I ask Deputies not to be misled in any way by the rather elaborate provisions set out. The main purpose of the Bill is to make some comparatively minor changes in the Emergency (Imposition of Duties) Act, 1932, but it was felt that it was preferable to repeal that Act and re-enact it with these changes rather than have people, who might have to refer to it, having to take note of two Acts, one amending the other.
I will indicate what the changes are. One of the reasons why the Bill is appearing at this time, rather than some other time, is that it is required in order to continue in permanent legislation the power which is now exercisable under the Supplies and Services Act to suspend the operation of customs duties. It may be asked why customs duty should be kept in a state of suspension, but there is a reason for that. Quite a number, if not the great majority, of customs duties were suspended during the war and were brought back into operation after the war as circumstances appeared to require; but there are still a number which have not yet been brought back into operation.
The manufacturers, for whose benefit these duties were imposed, have been able to carry on and develop their businesses without the aid of the duties, but they have said that the knowledge that the duties are there and can be brought into operation is of great assistance to them and, even if they are not asking to have them brought back into force now, they are at the same time not desirous of seeing them repealed altogether. At any rate, so long as it is considered desirable to keep customs duties of that kind in suspension, it is necessary to have power to do it. That power will lapse, however, when the Supplies and Services Act ceases to operate at the end of the year.
There is another change being made, which I think the House will welcome because it has been the subject of discussion here and in the Seanad on previous occasions. Under the existing law an Order made by the Government imposing a duty of customs has to be confirmed by legislation within a period of eight months. That seemed a quite reasonable period to allow when the original Emergency (Imposition of Duties) Act was being framed but, in practice, it works out to the disadvantage of due consideration of customs duties by the Legislature. The imposition or amendment of customs duties is a continuing process and at a stage in each year, generally approaching the end of a parliamentary session, it is discovered in the Department of Industry and Commerce that a duty will be due to lapse if it is not confirmed by legislation, some time during the Recess and, therefore, a Bill is hastily produced and rushed into the Dáil to confirm all the duties which are outstanding at the time.
It has usually been difficult to fit such a Bill into the parliamentary programme and there have been frequent complaints expressed here and in the other House that, because of this need for urgency to prevent the lapsing of a duty under the provisions of the Act, adequate time is not available for its consideration. The proposal here is that duties and Orders in any year will be confirmed in the next calendar year. The idea is that there will be one Bill produced each year for the consideration of the Dáil—a Bill to confirm all the Orders made under the Act in the previous year. That will enable that piece of legislation to be fitted normally to the legislative programme and there will, therefore, be no element of urgency when it comes before the Dáil for consideration.
There is another change being made which is also of some importance, although it appears to be a minor matter. The Act gives power to the Government to revoke an Order made under the Act but a number of the customs duties in force were imposed under Finance Acts. Before the Act of 1932 was passed, all customs duties were imposed in Finance Acts. By an oversight, power to revoke a customs duty imposed by a Finance Act was not taken in the Emergency (Imposition of Duties) Act and although the Government has power by Order to revoke customs duties imposed under the Imposition of Duties Act it has not got power to revoke duties imposed by a Finance Act.
That position is being rectified in this Bill. These are the only changes, except the change of name. The Act of 1932 is called the Emergency (Imposition of Duties) Act. The new Act will be known as the Imposition of Duties Act which in our circumstances is more appropriate.
