S.I. No. 152/1979:

IMPOSITION OF DUTIES (No. 239) (AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE) (CATTLE AND MILK) ORDER, 1979.

IMPOSITION OF DUTIES (No. 239) (AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE) (CATTLE AND MILK) ORDER, 1979.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 1 of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 (No. 7 of 1957) (as amended by section 46 of the Finance Act, 1975 (No. 6 of 1975), and section 29 of the Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 1978 (No. 34 of 1978)) and section 22 of the Finance Act, 1962 (No. 15 of 1962), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Imposition of Duties (No. 239) (Agricultural Produce) (Cattle and Milk) Order, 1979.

2. This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of May, 1979, and shall cease to have effect on the 31st day of December, 1979.

3. In this Order--

"exporter" means the owner or other person for the time being possessed of or beneficially interested in produce which is liable to a duty imposed by this Order at the time of exportation of the produce, and includes any person acting in relation to the produce as agent for the owner or other person;

"farm holding" means the total area of land, whether in one or more parcels (including buildings thereon), occupied by a particular person (including a family) for the purposes of husbandry, whether owned or taken on lease or rented or otherwise held by that person;

"fresh milk" means milk in its natural state which has been produced in the State and which has not been subjected to any process other than straining or cooling;

"milk received at any premises" includes milk produced at such premises;

"premises" means any building or place in which fresh milk is received for processing or for transmission to another premises for processing or any building or place in which live domestic bovine animals are slaughtered;

"live domestic bovine animals" means live domestic bovine animals other than those which, if imported, are shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners to have been in the State for less than 14 days;

"proprietor", in relation to premises, means the person or persons for the time being entitled to the exclusive occupation of the premises;

"processing" includes separating, pasteurising, bottling, packaging, preserving, concentrating, condensing, drying, powdering or sweetening, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

"reactor" means an animal which the Minister for Agriculture or a veterinary inspector of his Department has reason to believe is affected with brucellosis or leucosis or believes or suspects is either affected with bovine tuberculosis or capable of infecting other animals with bovine tuberculosis.

4. (1) There shall be charged, levied and paid on all fresh milk which is received at any premises or which is exported from the State a duty of excise at the rate of an amount equal to 2 per cent of the chargeable value of such milk, and where the same milk is received at more than one premises or is exported after receipt at a premises, liability under this paragraph shall arise only at the premises at which the milk is first received.

(2) Subject to compliance with such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may think fit to impose, the duty of excise imposed by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall not be charged or levied on the first 5,000 imperial gallons of any fresh milk which is received at any premises from any farm holding and which has been produced at that farm holding or which is exported direct from any farm holding, but where such fresh milk is received at more than one premises from any one farm holding, or is so received and fresh milk is also exported direct from the farm holding, relief under this paragraph shall be limited to the first aggregate 5,000 imperial gallons received at those premises, or so received and so exported, from, and produced at, that farm holding.

5. (1) There shall be charged, levied and paid on all live domestic bovine animals which are slaughtered in the State or which are exported from the State a duty of excise at the rate of an amount equal to 2 per cent of the chargeable value of such animals.

(2) Subject to compliance with such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may think fit to impose, the duty of excise imposed by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall not be charged or levied on a reactor.

6. The duty imposed by paragraph 4 of this Order shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners--

( a ) in the case of fresh milk received at a premises, by the proprietor of the premises, and shall be so payable on the day on which the milk is received at the premises or on such later day and subject to such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe and,

( b ) in the case of fresh milk which is exported from the State, by the exporter, and shall be so payable before exportation or at such later day and subject to such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe.

7. The duty imposed by paragraph 5 of this Order shall be payable to the Revenue Commissioners--

( a ) in the case of live domestic bovine animals slaughtered at premises, by the proprietor of the premises, and shall be so payable on the day on which the animals are slaughtered or on such later day and subject to such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe and,

( b ) in the case of live domestic bovine animals which are exported from the State, by the exporter, and shall be so payable before exportation or at such later day and subject to such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners may prescribe.

8. For the purposes of charging a duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order, the chargeable value of fresh milk or of live domestic bovine animals shall be taken to be the price which the produce would fetch on a sale in the open market between a buyer and seller independent of each other at the time and place at which duty is chargeable and the Revenue Commissioners may, if they think fit, determine that value for the purpose of charging such duty,

9. (1) A proprietor carrying on the business of receiving fresh milk at any premises or slaughtering, or causing to be slaughtered, at any premises, live domestice bovine animals shall be the holder of a licence granted under this paragraph by the Revenue Commissioners in such form and subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose.

(2) The Revnue Commissioners may vary any licence issued under this paragraph.

(3) Whenever the proprietor of any premises in respect of which a licence is issued under this paragraph ceases to carry on the business at that premises or ceases to be the proprietor of that premises he shall forthwith notify the Revenue Commissioners of such fact and deliver to them the licence issued.

(4) A licence granted to any person under this paragraph shall not in any way affect that person's liability to be licensed or registered, where required, by or under any Act other than the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 .

10. Where the Minister for Finance is satisfied that moneys paid to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order have been paid in error, or overpaid having regard to any of the provisions of this Order, the Revenue Commissioners may, subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose, repay any such moneys.

11. Section 15 (2) (a) of the Finance Act, 1966 (No. 17 of 1966), shall apply in relation to a duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order with the modification that "excise duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of the Imposition of Duties (No. 239) (Agricultural Produce) (Cattle and Milk) Order, 1979" shall be substituted for "said duty".

12. Section 11 of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 (No. 32 of 1977), shall apply in relation to a duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order with the modification that "the Imposition of Duties (No. 239) (Agricultural Produce) (Cattle and Milk) Order, 1979, or of regulations under section 15 (2) (a) of the Finance Act, 1966 (No. 17 of 1966), as applied by that Order" shall be substituted for "this Act (other than section 6) or of regulations under section 8 of this Act".

13. Section 3 of the Excise Act, 1848, shall apply in relation to a duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order with the modification that "three years" shall be substituted for "six calendar months".

14. For the purposes of this Order the Customs Act and any instruments made thereunder shall apply, where appropriate, to an excise duty imposed by this Order as if it were a duty of customs, and the provisions of those Acts and of instruments which relate to the exportation of goods shall also apply to goods which are the subject of a duty imposed by this Order.

15. The provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management thereof (and of any instrument relating to duties of excise made under statute) and not otherwise applied by this Order shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to a duty imposed by paragraph 4 or 5 of this Order as they apply to duties of excise.

16. The duties of excise imposed by this Order are hereby placed under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 30th day of April, 1979.

SEÁN Ó LOINSIGH,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order imposes an excise duty on cattle and milk, with effect from 1 May, 1979 to 31 December, 1979, subject to the following exemptions:--

--cattle slaughtered under the disease eradication programme;

--the first 5,000 gallons of milk delivered to all commercial intake points or exported.