S.I. No. 353/1984:

IMPOSITION OF DUTIES (No. 272) (EXCISE DUTIES ON MOTOR VEHICLES) ORDER, 1984.

IMPOSITION OF DUTIES (No. 272) (EXCISE DUTIES ON MOTOR VEHICLES) ORDER, 1984.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 1 of the Imposition of Duties Act, 1957 (No. 7 of 1957), section 22 of the Finance Act, 1962 (No. 15 of 1962), 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), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Imposition of Duties (No. 272) (Excise Duties on Motor Vehicles) Order, 1984.

(2) The Order of 1979 and this Order shall be construed together as one.

2. This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1985.

3. In this Order--

"horse-power" means horse-power calculated in accordance with regulations for the time being in force made by the Minister for the Environment under section 1 (3) of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 (No. 24 of 1952), for the purpose of a rate of duty specified in the Schedule to that Act;

"the Order of 1979" means the Imposition of Duties (No. 236) (Excise Duties on Motor Vehicles, Televisions and Gramophone Records) Order, 1979 ( S.I. No. 57 of 1979 ).

4. Paragraph 3 (a) of the Order of 1979 is hereby amended--

( a ) by the substitution for the definition of "motor vehicle" of the following definition:

" `motor vehicle' means any complete or substantially complete wheeled vehicle propolled by an engine or motor and includes a chassis of a category B motor vehicle fitted with an engine but does not include a bicycle, tricycle, or quadricycle, propelled by an engine or motor or a moped, scooter or autocycle or a cycle fitted with an auxiliary motor",

and

( b ) by the insertion after the definition of "motor vehicle" of the following definitions:

" `road tax purposes' means the purposes of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 (No. 24 of 1952), or any corresponding legislation of any other country relating to a tax in respect of the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on public roads;

`second-hand motor vehicle' means a used motor vehicle which has been previously registered for road-tax purposes in the name of a person other than the person who is the owner thereof at the time of the charging thereon of the duty imposed by paragraph 4 of this Order, or in the case of a motor vehicle which is not required to be registered for road-tax purposes in the country from which it is being imported, a motor vehicle which is shown, to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, to be more than one year old;".

5. The duty of excise imposed by paragraph 4 (1) of the Order of 1979 shall be charged, levied and paid as on and from the 1st day of January, 1985--

( a ) (i) insofar as it is chargeable on category A motor vehicles which exceed 16 horse-power, at the rate of an amount equal to 26 per cent. of the chargeable value, and

(ii) insofar as it is chargeable on other category A motor vehicles, at the rate of an amount equal to 23 per cent. of the chargeable value,

in lieu of the rates specified in section 61 of the Finance Act, 1983 (No. 15 of 1983), and

( b ) insofar as it is chargeable on category B motor vehicles, at the rate of an amount equal to 6.5 per cent. of the chargeable value in lieu of the rate specified in paragraph 4 (3) of the Order of 1979.

6. Paragraph 19 of the Order of 1979 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (1) and (2):

"(1) For the purpose of charging the duty imposed by paragraph 4 of this Order, the chargeable value of a motor vehicle shall be--

( a ) in the case of a second-hand motor vehicle, the retail price, at the time of the charging of the duty, of a new motor vehicle of a similar or corresponding type on sale in the State, reduced by reference to the age of the vehicle in accordance with the Table to this subparagraph, and--

( b ) in the case of any other motor vehicle--

(i) in case the motor vehicle is delivered in the State or imported into the State for re-sale, the retail price, at the time of the charging of the duty of the motor vehicle, and

(ii) in any other case--

(I) the retail price, at the time of the charging of the duty, of a motor vehicle of a similar or corresponding type to the motor vehicle aforesaid on sale by retail in the State, or

(II) if no motor vehicle of a similar or corresponding type to the motor vehicle aforesaid is on sale by retail in the State at that time aforesaid, the retail price of another motor vehicle on sale by retail in the State at that time whose price when sold by retail in the country in which the motor vehicle aforesaid was purchased corresponds to that of the 1 motor vehicle aforesaid in that country.

( c ) In this subparagraph 'age', in relation to a motor vehicle, means the time that has elapsed since the date on which a licence was first taken out in respect of the vehicle for road tax purposes or, where a motor vehicle is not required to be registered or licensed for road tax purposes in the country from which it is being imported, the time that has elapsed since the date on which it was first sold by retail.

TABLE

Calculation of chargeable value of second-hand motor vehicles

(2) In this paragraph 'retail price', in relation to a motor vehicle, means the price of the vehicle, inclusive of all taxes and duties, standing declared for the time being in writing to the Revenue Commissioners by the manufacturer or importer at which he would recommend that that vehicle, complete with any accessories or fittings normally attached thereto, should be offered for sale by retail if it were being offered for immediate sale in the State.

Provided that, where, in the case of any model of a motor vehicle imported into the State, there is more than one importer, 'retail price', in relation to a motor vehicle, means the price of the vehicle, inclusive of all taxes and duties, standing declared for the time being in writing to the Revenue Commissioners by the person who is the sole wholesale distributor of that model of motor vehicle in the State;

Provided further that, in the case of a motor vehicle in relation to which--

( a ) a retail price does not stand declared for the time being in the manner specified in this paragraph,

or

( b ) a retail price so stands that is, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners, lower by an unreasonable amount than the retail price at which a motor vehicle of a similar type and character is being offered for sale by retail in the State at the time the said duty is being charged, or

( c ) a retail price so stands and no motor vehicle of a similar type and character is on sale by retail in the State at that time,

"retail price", in relation to the vehicle, means such price as may be determined by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of this paragraph,"

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 18th day of

December, 1984.

DICK SPRING,

Tánaiste.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order amends, with effect from 1 January, 1985, the provisions relating to the excise duty on motor vehicles. It provides that the duty shall be related to the retail price of the vehicle and facilitates the collection of the duty on second-hand vehicles. It excludes motor-cycles and motor vehicles over 30 years old from the scope of the duty and introduces some regulatory provisions.