Finance Act, 1932

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Duty on certain packages.

22.—(1) In addition to any other duty which may be chargeable, there shall be charged, levied, and paid on every package imported into Saorstát Eireann on or after the 12th day of May, 1932, which contains any substance to which this section applies—

(a) if such substance is prescribed in the official import lists to be entered on importation by weight and the weight of the package is under seven pounds, a duty of customs at the following rates, that is to say:—

(i) if the weight of the package does not exceed two pounds—twopence, and

(ii) in any other case, one penny on every pound or fraction of a pound of the weight of the package;

(b) if such substance is prescribed in the official import lists to be entered on importation by measure and the content of the package is under six pints, a duty of customs at the following rates, that is to say:—

(i) if the content of the package does not exceed two pints—twopence, and

(ii) in any other case, one penny on every pint or fraction of a pint of the content of the package.

(2) Where a package, which but for this sub-section, would be chargeable with the duty imposed by this section contains any packages chargeable with the said duty, then, if the said duty is charged and paid on all the last-mentioned packages, the said duty shall not be charged on the first-mentioned package.

(3) The duty imposed by this section shall not be charged or levied on any package which contains only a bona fide trade sample of any commodity and is consigned in the ordinary course of trade to a trader in such commodity and is not for sale.

(4) Whenever the Minister for Finance is satisfied, after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce, that a person bona fide intends to establish in Saorstát Eireann equipment and facilities for packing in Saorstát Eireann any substance to which this section applies, the Revenue Commissioners may by licence authorise such person, at any time or times before such date (not being later than the 12th day of November, 1932), and subject to compliance with such conditions as the Revenue Commissioners shall think proper to specify in such licence, to import, without payment of the duty imposed by this section, packages containing such substance either, as the Revenue Commissioners shall think· proper, without limit or limited in all or any of the following ways, that is to say, to a specified number of packages, to packages of a specified class, or to packages of a specified size.

(5) Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1924 (No. 27 of 1924), shall not apply to the duty imposed by this section and accordingly the minimum charge imposed by the said section 25 shall not be chargeable in respect of the said duty.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, a portion of cheese wrapped only in tinfoil and not exceeding two ounces in weight shall not be a package for the purposes of this section.

(7) This section applies to the following substances, that is to say:—

(a) all foods (whether for consumption by human beings, animals, or birds) not excluded by the next following sub-section of this section; and

(b) all drinks not excluded by the next following sub-section of this section, and

(c) cosmetics; and

(d) medicinal preparations not excluded by the next following sub-section of this section; and

(e) seeds of fruits, vegetables, or flowers.

(8) This section does not apply to the following substances, that is to say:—

(a) fresh fruit, or

(b) soup in liquid form, fruit, fish, fish paste, meat, or meat paste in sealed bottles, jars, tins, or cans, or

(c) fresh fish imported before the 12th day of November, 1932, or

(d) natural mineral waters, or

(e) serums, vaccines, or preparations in ampoules, diabetic bread, biscuits, and cereals, or insulin, or

(f) foods or non-alcoholic drinks which, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioners are intended primarily for consumption by infants or invalids.

(9) In this section the word “package” means any bottle, box, carton, envelope, wrapper, or other container of any kind whatsoever, and references to the weight of a package shall be construed as referring to the total weight of the package and everything contained therein.