Finance Act 2005
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Amendment of section 79 (offences and penalties) of Finance Act 2003. |
62.—The Finance Act 2003 is amended, in Chapter 1 of Part 2, by substituting the following for section 79: | |
“79.—(1) Except where subsection (2), (3) or (5) applies, it is an offence under this subsection for any person to contravene or fail to comply with any provision of this Chapter or any regulation made under section 81 or any condition imposed under this Chapter or under such regulation in relation to such provision. | ||
(2) It is an offence under this subsection to invite an offer to treat for, offer for sale, keep for sale or delivery, sell or deliver, or to be in the process of delivering, any alcohol product on which the appropriate rate of alcohol products tax has not been paid. | ||
(3) It is an offence under this subsection for any person to record in any account, return or other record relating to alcohol products or materials which is required to be kept in accordance with any provision of this Chapter or any regulations made under section 81— | ||
(a) a quantity, strength, or gravity for any alcohol product or materials which is found by an officer taking account to be greater or less than the actual quantity, strength or gravity of such alcohol product or materials, | ||
(b) any other particular relevant to the liability of any alcohol product to alcohol products tax which is not true and accurate. | ||
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply where any discrepancy— | ||
(a) is accounted for by a loss due to force majeure or by a loss inherent in the nature of the product, or | ||
(b) is otherwise accounted for to the satisfaction of the Commissioners, and the alcohol products tax due on the product in question is paid. | ||
(5) It is an offence under this subsection— | ||
(a) to produce or process any illicit alcohol product or to attempt such production or processing, or to be concerned with any such production, processing, attempted production or attempted processing, | ||
(b) without the consent in writing of the Commissioners, to remove or to attempt to remove, or to be knowingly concerned in removing or attempting to remove, any denaturant from any alcohol product, | ||
(c) to knowingly deal in any illicit alcohol product or any alcohol product from which any denaturant has been removed, | ||
(d) to keep prohibited goods in any premises or on any land, or | ||
(e) to deliver, or be in the process of delivering, any illicit alcohol product or prohibited goods. | ||
(6) (a) Whenever a person, who is the owner or the occupier for the time being of premises or land in or on which prohibited goods are found, is charged in any legal proceedings with contravening subsection (5)(d), the prohibited goods shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been kept by such person in the said premises or on the said land (as the case may be), in contravention of that subsection. | ||
(b) In the case of an offence under subsection (2), where it is shown that any alcohol product is counterfeit goods, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the appropriate rate of alcohol products tax has not been paid on such product. | ||
(7) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which a person may be liable, a person guilty of an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (3) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of €1,900. | ||
(8) Without prejudice to any other penalty to which a person may be liable, a person convicted of an offence under subsection (5) is liable— | ||
(a) on summary conviction to a fine of €3,000 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or | ||
(b) on a conviction on an indictment, to a fine of €12,695 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both. | ||
(9) Where a person convicted of an offence under subsection (2) or (5) is either a licensee within the meaning of section 2 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 , or the secretary of a club registered under the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2004, section 9 (which relates to the temporary closure of a licensed premises) of the first-mentioned Act shall, with the exception of subsection (4), apply in respect of a licensed premises or premises of such club, used in connection with such offence. | ||
(10) Any alcohol products, materials or prohibited goods in respect of which an offence has been committed under this section are liable to forfeiture and, where any such products, materials or goods are found in, on, or in any manner attached to any vehicle, such vehicle is also liable to forfeiture. | ||
(11) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate and the offence is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of any person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body corporate, that person shall also be deemed to be guilty of an offence and may be proceeded against and punished as if guilty of the first-mentioned offence.”. |