Vol. 492 No. 3
50 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 74 of 13 May 1998, the basis on which rebates of excise duty were given to Bus Éireann in relation to hydrocarbon oil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13921/98]
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners has advised me that repayments of excise duty paid on hydrocarbon, heavy, oils used in the provision of passenger road services may be claimed under the provisions of paragraph 12 (11) of the Imposition of Duties (No 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975, SI No 307 of 1975. The requirements for claiming repayments are that the operator must be a licensee under the passenger licence granted under section 11 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 in respect of the passenger road service within the meaning of section 2 of that Act or must be exempted from the application of section 7 of that Act; the excise duty on hydrocarbon oils imposed by paragraph 12 (1) of SI No. 307 of 1975 must have been paid on the oil used for combustion in the engine of a mechanically propelled vehicle in providing the service.
Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 created an offence for operating an unlicensed passenger road service; section 24 of the Transport Act, 1958 provided an exemption for CIE from the application of section 7.
While excise duty rebates are given to Bus Éireann, the office of the Revenue Commissioners must respect the confidentiality of its dealings with the public and companies. The general question as to whether repayments of excise duty may be allowed in respect of journeys to and from garages is the subject of an appeal hearing under section 105 of the Finance Act, 1995. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the issue.
