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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 7 May 1969

Vol. 240 No. 5

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 on and from the 8th day of May, 1969, 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 and II of the Second Schedule to the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1968 (No. 37 of 1968).

(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 8th day of May, 1969, and before the 1st day of July, 1969, 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, 1969, 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 8th day of May, 1969, 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 III of the Second Schedule to the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1968.

(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 7th day of May, 1969, 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 seven 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 seven 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 7th day of May, 1969, 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 14th day of May, 1969, 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 7th day of May, 1969, 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 7th day of May, 1969.

(9) That every licensed manufacturer of tobacco shall, immediately upon making the return required by paragraph (7) of this Resolution or on the 14th day of May, 1969, 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 7th day of May, 1969, 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, 1969, 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.

£

s.

d.

Unmanufactured:

if stripped or stemmed:

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture

the

lb.

4

8

4.5

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

18

2.5

if unstripped or un- stemmed:

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

8

4

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

18

2

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:

cigars

the

lb.

5

7

2.1

4

11

4

cigarettes

,,

,,

5

4

10.5

4

9

5

cavendish or negrohead

,,

,,

5

6

6.9

4

10

10

cavendish or negrohead manufactured in bond

,,

,,

5

5

11.7

4

10

4

other manu- factured tobacco

,,

,,

5

4

6.9

4

9

2

snuff contain- ing more than 13 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

5

4

2.1

4

8

10

snuff contain- ing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

,,

,,

5

6

6.9

4

10

10

PART II.

Customs.

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:

cigars

the

lb.

5

1

0.2

4

11

4

cigarettes

,,

,,

4

18

9.7

4

9

5

cavendish or negrohead

,,

,,

5

0

5.5

4

10

10

cavendish or negrohead manufactured in bond

,,

,,

4

19

10.8

4

10

4

other manu- factured tobacco:

hard pressed tobacco

,,

,,

4

11

5.2

4

2

0.5

other pipe tobacco

,,

,,

4

17

2.5

4

7

9.8

other manu- factured tobacco

,,

,,

4

18

6.7

4

9

2

snuff contain- ing more than 13 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

18

2

4

8

10

snuff contain- ing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

,,

,,

5

0

5.5

4

10

10

PART III.

Customs.

Full

Preferential

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Manufactured:

cigars the lb.

the

lb.

4

19

7.6

4

11

4

cigarettes

,,

,,

4

17

5.6

4

9

5

cavendish or negrohead

,,

,,

4

19

1

4

10

10

cavendish or negrohead manufactured in bond

,,

,,

4

18

6.4

4

10

4

other manu- factured tobacco:

hard pressed tobacco

,,

,,

4

7

8.6

3

19

8

other pipe tobacco

,,

,,

4

15

5

4

7

4.4

other manu- factured tobacco

,,

,,

4

17

2.6

4

9

2

snuff contain- ing more than 13 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

16

10

4

8

10

snuff contain- ing 13 per cent. or less by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

19

1

4

10

10

PART IV.

Excise.

£

s.

d.

Unmanufactured:

containing 10 per cent. or more by weight of moisture

the

lb.

4

7

3

containing less than 10 per cent. by weight of moisture

,,

,,

4

16

11

Manufactured:

cavendish or negrohead manufactured in bond

,,

,,

4

9

3

Let us hear something about this Resolution.

Here again we have an increase. I should like to know what now is the price per ounce of hard-pressed tobacco, loose tobacco and the price of the standard size packet of cigarettes. How much per packet is the State to get from the total amount? I mentioned in this House some time ago that the State was dependent to a large extent for its financial existence on people who smoke and drink. Am I correct in saying that the taxation on a packet of 20 cigarettes is in the region of 3s. 8d. or 3s. 9d.?

It is 3s. 10d. at the moment. That is before this Resolution which will bring it up to 4s.

Is it correct to say that a man who buys a box of loose leaf tobacco will pay the State more than 9s. 6d. in taxation?

The duty is 4s. 6d. and 5s. How does the Deputy make 9s. 6d. out of that?

I am speaking about a two-ounce box. There are 365 days in a year.——

As a rule.

Fianna Fáil have not been able to change that yet.

——so that a man buying a packet of 20 cigarettes each day on which taxation is 4s. will be paying the State £75 per year. Therefore, we here today are asking those of us who smoke 20 cigarettes per day to contribute about £75 each year to the State.

I should have thought that Deputy Briscoe would have been good at calculating but apparently he is not. There would have been a lot of unrest if people were asked to pay an extra £75 in additional revenue on, say, rates. What would happen if, as a result of this additional impact, a sizeable percentage of our cigarette and tobacco smokers decided to take the advice that is freely available to them to stop smoking and prolong their lives? What would the reaction be if, instead of paying the 4/- tax at the time of purchase, the shopkeeper would take only the price of the cigarettes and keep an account of the tax to be paid later to the State? This would mean, in effect, that the person would get a demand for £37 10s each half year and that is a rather formidable figure. In most cases at least 25 per cent of what the old age pensioner is getting is taken back through additional tax on tobacco and cigarettes. We know that many people have very little other means of enjoying themselves after their day's work except to sit around talking and smoking. It is a good job for Deputy Haughey as Minister for Finance that that is the position. I just wonder are we being fair to these people. The Minister states in relation to another Resolution that our consumption is not going down and whilst it is not going up it attracts his attention. Is that a good approach? I leave this to the judgement of the House.

I want to ask a question in development of something Deputy Murphy said. Again, quite frankly I do not understand this. Is hard pressed tobacco, as defined here, subject to this tax?

It is. Hard pressed tobacco had the advantage of a rebate of ?d an ounce.

You are preserving the existing preferential rates so.

It is going up 2d all the same.

It is going up the same amount.

For the first time for many years—I do not know if it is the first time ever—hard pressed tobacco is being taxed on the same basis.

It has been taxed on the same basis for a number of years.

Fianna Fáil have done it for a number of years.

Fianna Fáil introduced the differential.

We are keeping the differential.

The only reason I mention this is that I think in the Budget of 1965 when the present Taoiseach was Minister for Finance he advanced the view that nobody now used hard pressed tobacco or I think it was hard plug he said and when hell broke loose around him it transpired that that was not so. I should imagine that hard pressed tobacco is used a lot.

We will have to ask you to quote the instance. My information is he did not say that.

I think he said it definitely. At least he said there were very few people smoking it or words to that effect.

What is the consumption of hard pressed as compared with the rest?

The latest figure is 83 per cent hard pressed.

Of all tobacco.

Of pipe tobacco, it is 83 per cent. When the Taoiseach was Minister for Finance I think what he said was that most people smoked the other kind.

I think he was comparing it with the total tobacco consumption. What would it be of the total tobacco consumption?

Cigarettes account for about 11 million lbs., hard pressed, about 1 million lbs. and others about a quarter of a million lbs. The overwhelming thing is cigarettes; hard pressed very much next, and others after that a very poor third.

My recollection must be wrong.

I think he was referring to the total tobacco consumption. Would the Minister tell us if it means 2d. on a full cigarette what will it mean on a filter tip?

It will be the same on everything. We got an undertaking from the cigarette manufacturers that they would put more tobacco in the filter cigarettes. They have been honouring that.

Will Corsair still carry their own tax?

Will this mean any change in the size of cigarettes?

They put more tobacco in tipped cigarettes. They have given us that undertaking and it has been honourably observed.

Question put and agreed to.
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