, applies, otherwise than in accordance with subsection (2), the person shall be deemed to have acquired the strip for an amount equal to— (a) the amount which bears the same proportion to the nominal value of the unit of the security as the market value of the strip at the time of issue of the security would have borne to the aggregate of the market value at that time of each of the strips of the unit of the security if the strip had been created at the time of issue of the security, or (b) the amount paid by the person for the acquisition of the strip, whichever is the lesser.
\nAmendment of section 138 (tax treatment of securities issued at a discount) of Finance Act, 1990 .
\n34.—
\nof the Finance Act, 1990 , is hereby amended in the definition of “securities” in subsection (1) by the deletion of “and” at the end of paragraph (a), the substitution of “Agriculture, and” for “Agriculture;” in paragraph (b) and the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): “(c)strips within the meaning of section 54 (10) of the Finance Act, 1970 (inserted by section 161 of the Finance Act, 1997);”.
\nAmendment of section 17 (undertakings for collective investment) of Finance Act, 1993 .
\n35.—
\nof the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of the following paragraph: “(a) (i)Every asset of an undertaking for collective investment on the day on which a chargeable period of the undertaking ends shall, subject to the subsequent provisions of this subsection, be deemed to have been disposed of and immediately reacquired by the undertaking at the asset's market value on the said day. (ii) Subparagraph (i) shall not apply to— (I) assets to which subsection (5)(a)(ii) relates other than where such assets are held in connection with a contract or other arrangement which secures the future exchange of the assets for other assets to which the said subsection does not relate, and (II) assets which are strips within the meaning of section 33 of the Finance Act, 1997”.
\nAmendment of section 31 (interest payments by companies and to non-residents) of Finance Act, 1974 .
\n36.—Section 31 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1996 ) of the Finance Act, 1974 , is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection: “(1) In this section— ‘company’ means any body corporate; ‘relevant security’ means a security issued by a company on or before the 31st day of December, 2005, on terms which oblige the company to redeem the security within a period of 15 years after the date on which the security was issued.”, and (b) by the addition, after subsection (3) of the following subsection: “(4) In relation to interest paid in respect of a relevant security paragraph (cc) of subsection (3) shall apply— (a) as if there were deleted from subsection (2) of section 39A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1981 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , ‘, and any certificate so given shall, unless it is revoked under subsection (4), (4A) or (4B), remain in force until the 31st day of December, 2005’, and (b) as if there were deleted from subsection (2) of section 39B (inserted by the Finance Act, 1987 ) of the Finance Act, 1980 , ‘, and any certificate so given shall, unless it is revoked under subsection (4), (5) or (5A), remain in force until the 31st day of December, 2005’.”.
\nTax credits in respect of distributions.
\n37.—(1) The provisions of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , specified in paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule shall have effect in relation to distributions made on or after the 6th day of April, 1997, as if the standard rate for the year of assessment 1997-98 and subsequent years of assessment were 21 per cent.
\nAmendment of section 37 (application of section 25 (attribution of distributions to accounting periods) of Finance Act, 1989 , to interim dividends) of Finance Act, 1992 .
\n38.—
\nof the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) of “6th day of April, 2002” for “6th day of April, 1997”.
\nAmendment of Chapter VIII (taxation of acquisition by a company of its own shares) of Part I of Finance Act, 1991 .
\n39.—(1) Chapter VIII of Part I of the Finance Act, 1991 , is hereby amended— (a) in section 59— (i) in subsection (1)— (I) by the insertion, after the meaning assigned to “control” of the following definition: “‘group’ means a company which has one or more 51 per cent. subsidiaries together with those subsidiaries;”, and (II) in the definition of “trading group” by the deletion of the words after “trades”, and (ii) in subsection (3), by the substitution for “section 61” of “section 60A or 61”, and (b) by the insertion, after section 60, of the following section: “Purchase of own shares by a quoted company.
\n60A.—(1) Notwithstanding any provision of Part IX of the Act of 1976, references in the Tax Acts to distributions of a company shall be construed so as not to include references to a payment made by a quoted company on the redemption, repayment or purchase of its own shares.
\nAmendment of section 40 (treatment under Tax Acts of certain employment grants and recruitment subsidies) of Finance Act, 1996 .
\n40.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1996 , is hereby amended in subsection (2) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (c): “(cc) the Employment Support Scheme, being a scheme established on the 1st day of January, 1993, and administered by the National Rehabilitation Board, (ccc) the Pilot Programme for the Employment of People with Disabilities, being a programme administered by a company incorporated on the 7th day of March, 1995, as The Rehab Group,”.
\nEmployers' pension contributions.
\n41.—(1) Chapter II of Part I of the Finance Act, 1972 , is hereby amended— (a) in section 16, by the substitution of the following for subsection (4): “(4) (a) Any sum paid by an employer by way of contribution under the scheme shall, for the purposes of Case I or II of Schedule D and of sections 15 and 33(2) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , be allowed to be deducted as an expense, or expense of management, incurred in the chargeable period in which the sum is paid but no other sum shall for those purposes be allowed to be deducted as an expense, or expense of management, in respect of the making, or any provision for the making, of any contributions under the scheme. (b) For the purposes of this section and of section 16A— (i) a reference to a ‘chargeable period’ shall be construed as a reference to a ‘chargeable period or its basis period’ (within the meaning of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ), and (ii) in relation to an employer whose chargeable period is a year of assessment, ‘basis period’ means the period on the profits or gains of which income tax for that year of assessment falls to be finally computed for the purposes of Case I or II of Schedule D in respect of the trade, profession or vocation of the employer. (4A) The amount of an employer's contributions which may be deducted under subsection (4) shall not exceed the amount contributed by that employer under the scheme in respect of employees in a trade or undertaking in respect of the profits of which the employer is assessable to income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be. (4B) A sum not paid by way of an ordinary annual contribution shall for the purposes of subsection (4) be treated, as the Commissioners may direct, either as an expense incurred in the chargeable period in which the sum is paid, or as an expense to be spread over such period of years as the Commissioners think proper.”, and (b) by the insertion of the following section after section 16: “Provisions supplemental to section 16(4).
\n16A.—(1) Where— (a) there is, after the 21st day of April, 1997, an actual payment by an employer of a contribution under an exempt approved scheme, (b) that payment would, apart from this section, be allowed to be deducted as an expense, or expense of management, of the employer in relation to any chargeable period, and (c) the total of previously allowed deductions exceeds the relevant maximum, the amount allowed to be so deducted in respect of the payment mentioned in paragraph (a) and of any other actual payments of contributions under the scheme which, having been made after the 21st day of April, 1997, fall within paragraph (b) in relation to the same chargeable period shall be reduced by whichever is the smaller of the excess and the amount which reduces the deduction to nil.
\nDeemed disposal of assets on company ceasing to be resident in the State.
\n42.—(1) (a) In this section and in section 43 — “designated area”, “exploration or exploitation activities” and “exploration or exploitation rights” have, respectively, the same meanings as they have in section 33 of the Finance Act, 1973 ; “exploration or exploitation assets” means assets used or intended for use in connection with exploration or exploitation activities, carried on in the State or in a designated area; “market value” shall be construed in accordance with section 49 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 ; “the new assets” and “the old assets” have, respectively, the meanings assigned to them in section 28 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 . (b) For the purposes of this section and section 43 a company shall not be regarded as ceasing to be resident in the State by reason only that it ceases to exist.
\n(4)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , shall not apply where a relevant company— (a) has disposed of the old assets, or of its interest in those assets, before the relevant time, and (b) acquires the new assets, or its interest in those assets, after the relevant time, unless the new assets are excepted from this subsection by subsection (5).
\nPostponement of charge on deemed disposal under section 42 .
\n43.—(1) (a) In this section— “deemed disposal” means a disposal which, by virtue of section 42
\nTax on non-resident company recoverable from another member of group or from controlling director.
\n44.—(1) In this section— “chargeable period” means a year of assessment or an accounting period, as the case may be; “controlling director”, in relation to a company, means a director of the company who has control of it (construing control in accordance with section 102 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ); “director”, in relation to a company, has the meaning given by section 119(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and includes any person falling within section 103(5) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ; “group” has the meaning which would be given by section 129 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , if in that section references to residence in the State were omitted and for references to “75 per cent. subsidiaries” there were substituted references to “51 per cent. subsidiaries”, and references to a company being a member of a group shall be construed accordingly; “specified period”, in relation to a chargeable period, means the period beginning with the specified return date for the chargeable period (within the meaning of section 9 of the Finance Act, 1988 ) and ending 3 years after the time when a return under section 10 of the Finance Act, 1988 , for the chargeable period is delivered to the appropriate inspector (within the meaning of the said section 9); “tax” means corporation tax or capital gains tax, as the case may be.
\nAmendment of section 464 (issue of securities with exemption from tax) of Income Tax Act, 1967 .
\n45.—(1) Section 464 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1992 ) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended in the proviso by the substitution for “Case I” of “Case I or Case IV”.
\nAmendment of section 470 (securities of Irish local authorities issued abroad) of Income Tax Act, 1967 .
\n46.—(1) Section 470 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1992 ) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) by the substitution for “Case I” of “Case I or Case IV”.
\nAmendment of section 474 (exemption of certain securities from tax) of Income Tax Act, 1967 .
\n47.—(1) Section 474 (as amended by the Finance Act, 1992 ) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended in subsection (2) by the substitution in the proviso for “Case I” of “Case I or Case IV”.
\nReplacement of harbour authorities by port companies.
\n48.—(1) In this section and in the Fifth Schedule , “relevant port company” has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph 1 of that Schedule.
\nTreatment of certain profits and gains for tax purposes.
\n49.—(1) In this section “the authority” means the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
\n(4)
\nof the Finance Act, 1988 , is repealed with effect from the 1st day of May, 1997.
\nAmendment of Chapter IX (profit sharing schemes) of Part 1 of, and Third Schedule (profit sharing schemes) to, Finance Act, 1982 .
\n50.—The Finance Act, 1982 , is hereby amended— (a) in section 52, as on and from the passing of this Act, by the substitution of the following for subsections (7) and (8): “(7) In this Chapter ‘the release date’, in relation to any of a participant's shares, means the third anniversary of the date on which the shares were appropriated to the participant.
\n58A.—(1) This section applies to a sum expended by a company in establishing a profit sharing scheme which the Revenue Commissioners approve of in accordance with Part I of the Third Schedule and under which the trustees acquire no shares before such approval is given.
\nEmployee share ownership trusts.
\n51.—(1) (a) This section applies to an employee share ownership trust which the Revenue Commissioners have approved of as a qualifying employee share ownership trust in accordance with the provisions of the Third Schedule and which approval has not been withdrawn. (b) This section shall be construed together with the Third Schedule .
\n(7)
\nof the Finance Act, 1976 , shall not apply to income consisting of dividends in respect of securities held by a trust to which this section applies.
\nUrban Renewal Reliefs: Introduction of New Scheme in the Dublin Docklands Area Interpretation (Chapter III).
\n52.—In this Chapter— “qualifying area” means an area or areas in the Dublin Docklands Area (within the meaning of section 4 of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act, 1997 ) specified as a qualifying area by order under section 53 ; “lease”, “lessee”, “lessor”, “premium” and “rent” have the same meanings respectively as in Chapter VI of Part IV of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ; “market value”, in relation to a building, structure or house, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the building, structure or house would fetch if sold in the open market in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the best price for the building, structure or house, less the part of that price which would be attributable to the acquisition of, or of rights in or over, the land on which the building, structure or house is constructed; “qualifying period” means, subject to section 53 , the period commencing on the 1st day of July, 1997, and ending on the 30th day of June, 2000; “refurbishment”, in relation to a building or structure and other than for the purposes of section 57 , means any work of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal, including the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities, carried out in the course of the repair or restoration, or maintenance in the nature of repair or restoration, of the building or structure.
\nQualifying area.
\n53.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, following a recommendation from the Executive Board (within the meaning of section 17 of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act, 1997 ) of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (within the meaning of section 14 of the said Act), by order direct that— (a) the area or areas described in the order shall be a qualifying area— (i) for the purposes of one or more sections of this Chapter, and (ii) in relation to section 55 , for the purposes of that section, including or excluding the provisions of subsection (6) of that section as may be specified in the order, and (b) as respects any such area so described in the order, the definition of “qualifying period” in section 52
\nAccelerated capital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain industrial buildings or structures.
\n54.—(1) This section shall apply to a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying area and which is to be an industrial building or structure by reason of its use for a purpose specified in section 255 (1)(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 .
\nCapital allowances in relation to construction or refurbishment of certain commercial premises.
\n55.—(1) (a) In this section— “qualifying multi-storey car park” means a building or structure consisting of 2 or more storeys wholly or mainly in use for the purpose of providing, for members of the public generally without preference for any particular class of person, on payment of an appropriate charge, parking space for mechanically propelled vehicles; “qualifying premises” means a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying area and which— (i) apart from this section, is not an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and (ii) (I) is in use for the purposes of a trade or profession, or (II) whether or not it is so used, is let on bona fide commercial terms for such consideration as might be expected to be paid in a letting of the building or structure negotiated on an arm's length basis, but does not include a car park (other than a qualifying multi-storey car park) or any part of a building or structure in use as or as part of a dwelling-house. (b) Where part of a building or structure is a qualifying premises and part of it (in this paragraph referred to as “the second-mentioned part”) is not a qualifying premises and the capital expenditure which has been incurred in the qualifying period on the construction or refurbishment of the second-mentioned part is not more than one-tenth of the total capital expenditure which has been incurred in that period on the construction or refurbishment of the building or structure, then, the building or structure and every part thereof shall be treated as a qualifying premises.
\nDouble rent allowance in respect of rent paid for certain business premises.
\n56.—(1) (a) In this section— “qualifying lease” means a lease in respect of a qualifying premises granted in the qualifying period on bona fide commercial terms by a lessor to a lessee not connected with the lessor, or with any other person who is entitled to a rent in respect of the qualifying premises, whether under that lease or any other lease; “qualifying premises” means, subject to paragraph (b) and subsection (5) (a), a building or structure the site of which is wholly within a qualifying area and— (i) (I) which is a building or structure in use for a purpose specified in section 255 (1)(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and in respect of which capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period for which an allowance is to be made, or will by virtue of section 19 (as amended by section 23 of the Finance Act, 1991 ) of the Finance Act, 1970 , be made, for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under section 254 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , or section 25 of the Finance Act, 1978 , as applied by section 54 , (II) in respect of which an allowance is to be made, or will by virtue of section 19 (as amended by section 23 of the Finance Act, 1991 ) of the Finance Act, 1970 , be made, for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967 , by reason of section 55 , or (III) which is a building or structure in use for the purposes specified in section 255 (1)(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and in respect of the construction or refurbishment of which capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period for which an allowance would, but for subsection (6), be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Chapter II of Part XV of, or Chapter I of Part XVI of, the Income Tax Act, 1967 , and (ii) which is let on such terms as are referred to in paragraph (ii) (II) of the definition of “qualifying premises” in section 55 . (b) Where capital expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period on the refurbishment of a building or structure in respect of which an allowance is to be made, or will by virtue of section 19 of the Finance Act, 1970 , be made, or in respect of which an allowance would but for subsection (6) be made, for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under any of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a), the building or structure shall not be regarded as a qualifying premises unless the total amount of the expenditure so incurred is not less than an amount equal to 10 per cent. of the market value of the building or structure immediately before that expenditure is incurred.
\nResidential accommodation: allowance to owner-occupiers in respect of expenditure on construction or refurbishment.
\n57.—(1) In this section— “qualifying expenditure”, in relation to an individual, means an amount equal to the amount of the expenditure incurred by the individual on the construction or, as the case may be, refurbishment of a qualifying premises which is a qualifying owner-occupied dwelling in relation to the individual after deducting from that amount of expenditure any sum in respect of or by reference to that expenditure, or in respect of or by reference to the qualifying premises or the construction or, as the case may be, refurbishment work in respect of which it was incurred, which the individual has received, or is entitled to receive, directly or indirectly, from the State, any board established by statute or any public or local authority; “qualifying owner-occupied dwelling”, in relation to an individual, means a qualifying premises which is first used, after the qualifying expenditure has been incurred, by such an individual as that individual's only or main residence; “qualifying premises”, in relation to the incurring of qualifying expenditure, means, subject to subsections (2) and (3) of section 58 , a house— (a) the site of which is wholly within a qualifying area, (b) which is used solely as a dwelling, (c) in respect of which, if it is not a new house (for the purposes of section 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ) provided for sale, there is in force a certificate of reasonable cost the amount specified in which in respect of the cost of construction or, as the case may be, refurbishment of the house to which the certificate relates is not less than the expenditure actually incurred on such construction or refurbishment, as the case may be, and (d) the total floor area of which is not less than 38 square metres and not more than 125 square metres; “refurbishment”, in relation to a building, means either or both of the following, that is to say: (a) the carrying out of any works of construction, reconstruction, repair or renewal, and (b) the provision or improvement of water, sewerage or heating facilities, where the carrying out of such works, or the provision of such facilities, is certified by the Minister for the Environment, in any certificate of reasonable cost granted by that Minister in relation to any house contained in the building, to have been necessary for the purposes of ensuring the suitability as a dwelling of any house in the building and whether or not the number of houses in the building, or the shape or size of any such house, is altered in the course of such refurbishment.
\n(4)
\nof the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended in Part I of the Table to that section by the addition of “ section 57 of the Finance Act, 1997”.
\n(5)
\nshall apply for the purposes of supplementing this section.
\nProvisions supplementary to section 57 .
\n58.—(1) In section 57 — “certificate of reasonable cost” means a certificate granted by the Minister for the Environment for the purposes of section 57 , stating that the amount specified in the certificate in relation to the cost of construction or refurbishment of, the house to which the certificate relates appears to the Minister at the time of the granting of the certificate and on the basis of the information available to the Minister at that time to be reasonable, and section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 , shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to a certificate of reasonable cost as if it were a certificate of reasonable value within the meaning of that section; “house” includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling and any out-office, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith; “total floor area” means the total floor area of a house measured in the manner referred to in section 4(2)(b) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 .
\nCorporation Tax Rate of corporation tax.
\n59.—(1) As respects any accounting period ending on or after the 1st day of April, 1997, section 1 (as amended by section 54 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) For the financial year 1974 and each subsequent financial year there shall be charged on the profits of companies a tax, to be called corporation tax, at the rate of— (a) 38 per cent. for— (i) each financial year until and including the year 1996, and (ii) that part of the financial year 1997 beginning on the first day of January, 1997, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1997; and (b) 36 per cent. for— (i) that part of the financial year beginning on the 1st day of April, 1997, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1997, and (ii) each subsequent financial year.”.
\nAmendment of section 28A (reduced rate of corporation tax for certain income) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .
\n60.—(1) Section 28A (as inserted by the Finance Act, 1996 ) of the Corportion Tax Act, 1976, is hereby amended— (a) as respects accounting periods ending on or after the 1st day of April, 1997, by the substitution in subsection (1) of “28 per cent.” for “30 per cent.”, and (b) in subsection (10)— (i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution for the definition of “S” of the following: “S is an amount equal to so much of the profits of the company for the accounting period as are charged to tax in accordance with subsection (1), and”, (ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution for subparagraph (ii) of the following: “(ii) by an amount equal to so much of the profits of the company for the accounting period as are charged to tax in accordance with subsection (1).”.
\nRepeal of section 80 (exemption of income from carrying out of voluntary health insurance schemes) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .
\n61.—(1) In this section— “the Board” means the Voluntary Health Insurance Board; “market value” has the meaning assigned to it in section 49 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 .
\n(2)
\nof the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , shall be deemed to have been repealed with effect from the 1st day of March, 1997.
\nExemption of harbour authorities and port companies.
\n62.—(1) (a) In this section— “relevant body” means— (i) a harbour authority within the meaning of the Harbours Act, 1946 , (ii) a company established pursuant to section 7 of the Harbours Act, 1996 , and (iii) any other company which controls a harbour and which carries on a trade which consists wholly or partly of the provision in that harbour of such facilities and accommodation for vessels, goods and passengers as are ordinarily provided by harbour authorities specified in paragraph (i), and companies specified in paragraph (ii) which control harbours, situate within the State, in those harbours; “relevant profits or gains” means so much of the profits or gains of a relevant body controlling a harbour situate within the State as arise from the provision in that harbour of such facilities and accommodation for vessels, goods and passengers as are ordinarily provided by— (i) harbour authorities specified in paragraph (i), and (ii) companies specified in paragraph (ii), of the definition of “relevant body”, which control harbours, situate within the State, in those harbours. (b) For the purposes of this section, where an accounting period falls partly in a period, the part of the accounting period falling into the period shall be regarded as a separate accounting period.
\n(2)
\nof the Income Tax Act, 1967 , shall be deemed to have been repealed with effect from the 1st day of January, 1997.
\nExemption of income of body designated under Irish Takeover Panel Act, 1997 .
\n63.—Notwithstanding any provision of the Corporation Tax Acts, income arising in any accounting period ending after the 30th day of April, 1997, to the body designated by the Minster for Enterprise and Employment under section 3 of the Irish Takeover Panel Act, 1997 , shall be exempt from corporation tax.
\nAmendment of section 56 (relief for gifts to The Enterprise Trust Ltd.) of Finance Act, 1992 .
\n64.—Section 56 (as amended by section 56 of the Finance Act, 1996 ) of the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of “on or before the 31st day of December, 1999” for “before the 31st day of December, 1997”, (b) by the substitution in subsection (3) of “(hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘donor’)” for “(hereafter in this subsection referred to as the ‘donor’)”, (c) by the substitution of the following proviso for the proviso to subsection (3): “Provided that in determining the net amount of the gift, the amount or value of any consideration received by the said donor as a result of making the gift, whether received directly or indirectly from the company or any other person, shall be deducted from the amount of the gift and relief under this section shall not be given to a donor for an accounting period— (i) if the net amount of the gift (or the aggregate of the net amounts of gifts) made by it in that accounting period, being a gift or gifts, as the case may be, to which this section applies, does not exceed £500, (ii) to the extent to which the net amount of the gift (or the aggregate of the net amounts of gifts) made by it in that accounting period, being a gift or gifts, as the case may be, to which this section applies, exceeds £100,000, (iii) in respect of a gift made at any time in the year ending on the 31st day of December in the year 1998 or 1999, if, at that time, the aggregate of the net amounts of all gifts to which this section applies made to the company within that year exceeds £1,500,000.”, and (d) by the addition, after subsection (4), of the following subsections: “(5) Where a donor makes a gift in respect of which relief is not to be given by virtue of subparagraph (iii) of the proviso to subsection (3), the company shall, by notice in writing given to the donor within 30 days of the making of the gift, advise the donor accordingly.
\nAmendment of section 51 (relief for gifts made to First Step) of Finance Act, 1993 .
\n65.—Section 51 (as amended by section 67 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of “1st day of January, 2000” for “1st day of June, 1997”, and (b) in the proviso to subsection (3) by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b): “(iii) in respect of a gift made at any time in the year ending on the 31st day of May in the year 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 or 1999, if, at that time, the aggregate of the net amount of all gifts to which this section applies made to First Step within that year exceeds £1,500,000, or (iv) in respect of a gift made at any time in the period commencing on the 1st day of June, 1999, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1999, if, at that time, the aggregate of the net amount of all gifts to which this section applies made to First Step within that period exceeds £875,000.”.
\nAmendment of section 36 (amendment of section 39B (relief in relation to income from certain trading operations carried on in Custom House Docks Area) of Finance Act, 1980) of Finance Act, 1988 .
\n66.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1988 , is hereby amended in paragraph (a) of subsection (4) by the substitution for the definition of “foreign life assurance business” of the following definition: “‘foreign life assurance business’ means relevant trading operations within the meaning of the said section 39B consisting of life assurance business with policy holders and annuitants who, at the time such business is contracted, reside outside the State and as regards any policy issued or contract made, as the case may be, with such policy holders or annuitants in the course of such business, such policy or contract does not provide for— (a) the granting of any additional contractual rights, or (b) an option to have another policy or contract substituted for it, at a time when the policy holder or annuitant, as the case may be, resides in the State;”.
\nAmendment of section 35 (profits of life business) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .
\n67.—(1)
\nof the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1A) of the following subsection: “(1B) (a) In this subsection— ‘policy of assurance’ means— (i) a policy of assurance issued by a company (to which subsection (1A) applies) to an individual who, on the date the policy is issued, resides outside the State and who continuously so resides throughout a period of not less than six months commencing on that date, or (ii) a policy issued or a contract made which is not a retirement benefits policy solely by virtue of the age condition not being complied with; ‘relevant amount’— (i) in relation to a policy of assurance, means the amount determined by the formula— V-P and (ii) in relation to a retirement benefits policy, means the amount determined by the formula— (V-P) × 75 ___ 100 where— V is the amount or the aggregate of amounts by which the market value of all the entitlements under the policy of assurance or the retirement benefits policy, as the case may be, increased during any period or periods in which the policy holder was residing in the State, and P is the amount of premiums or like sums paid in respect of the policy of assurance or the retirement benefits policy, as the case may be, during any period or periods in which the policy holder was residing in the State; ‘retirement benefits policy’ means a policy issued or a contract made by a company (to which subsection (1A) applies)— (i) to or with, as the case may be, an individual who, on the date the policy is issued or the contract is made, resides outside the State and who continuously so resides throughout a period of not less than six months commencing on that date, and (ii) on terms which include the condition (in this subsection referred to as the ‘age condition’) that the main benefit secured by the policy or contract, is the payment by the company (otherwise than on the death or disability of the individual) of a sum to the individual on or after the individual attains the age of sixty years and before the individual attains the age of seventy years and that condition is complied with. (b) Where, in respect of a policy of assurance or a retirement benefits policy, a sum is payable (otherwise than by reason of death or disability of the policy holder) to a policy holder who is resident or ordinarily resident in the State, (within the meaning of Chapter I of Part VII of the Finance Act, 1994 ), by a company, then— (i) the company shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have made, in the year of assessment in which the sum is payable, an annual payment of an amount equal to the relevant amount in relation to the policy of assurance or the retirement benefits policy, as the case may be, and section 151 (income tax on payments) shall apply for the purposes of the charge, assessment and recovery of such tax,
\n(ii) the company shall be entitled to deduct the tax out of the sum otherwise payable, (iii) the recipient of the sum payable shall not be entitled to repayment of, or credit for, such tax so deducted, and (iv) the sum paid, or any part thereof, shall not be reckoned in computing total income of the recipient thereof, for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”.
\nAmendment of section 36 (investment income reserved for policy holders) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .
\n68.—(1) Section 36 (as amended by section 48 of the Finance Act, 1996 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsections: “(2) Where in a financial year the rate per cent. (in this subsection and in subsection (2A) referred to as the ‘specified rate per cent.’) of corporation tax specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1 exceeds the standard rate per cent. for either of the years of assessment, part of each of which falls within the financial year, the corporation tax in respect of any of the said unrelieved profits of the company for that year shall be reduced on a claim in that regard being made by the company, by so much of that tax as is equal to the amount by which— (a) the corporation tax chargeable on the company for that year in respect of the part specified in subsection (5) of the said unrelieved profits, exceeds— (b) the corporation tax which would be so chargeable in respect of that part of those profits if the specified rate per cent. for each part of the financial year which coincides with a part of a year of assessment were equal to the standard rate per cent. for the year of assessment. (2A) In computing that part of those profits for the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (2), subsection (1A) of section 13 shall apply as if the rate per cent. of capital gains tax specified in subsection (3) of section 3 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , were the specified rate per cent.”.
\nAmendment of section 46A (deemed disposal and reacquisition of certain assets) of Corporation Tax Act, 1976 .
\n69.—(1) Section 46A (as amended by section 11 of the Finance Act, 1993 ) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , is hereby amended in subsection (3) by the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: “(a)(i) assets to which section 19 of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , applies by virtue of any provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, other than where such assets are held in connection with a contract or other arrangement which secures the future exchange of the assets for other assets, being assets to which the said section 19 does not apply, or (ii) assets which are strips within the meaning of section 33 of the Finance Act, 1997,”.
\nCapital Gains Tax Amendment of Schedule 2 to Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 .
\n70.—(1) Schedule 2 to the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph 5 of the following paragraph: “Demutualisation of assurance companies 5A. (1) This paragraph shall apply and have effect in respect of an arrangement between a company and its members, being an arrangement to which subparagraph (1) of paragraph 5 applies by virtue of subparagraph (2) of the said paragraph, and where the company is an assurance company which carries on a mutual life business.
\nProvided that this subparagraph is without prejudice to the operation, where applicable, of subparagraph (2).
\nDivorced persons: transfers of assets.
\n71.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, where by virtue or in consequence of an order made under Part III of the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996 , on or following the granting of a decree of divorce, either of the spouses concerned disposes of an asset to the other spouse then, subject to subsection (2), both spouses shall be treated for the purposes of those Acts as if the asset was acquired from the spouse making the disposal for a consideration of such amount as would secure that on the disposal neither a gain nor a loss would accrue to the spouse making the disposal.
\n(4)
\nof the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996 , is hereby repealed.
\nSeparated spouses: transfers of assets.
\n72.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Capital Gains Tax Acts, where by virtue or in consequence of— (a) an order made under Part II of the Family Law Act, 1995 , on or following the granting of a decree of judicial separation within the meaning of that Act, or (b) an order made under Part II of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989 , on or following the granting of a decree of judicial separation where such order is treated, by virtue of section 3 of the Family Law Act, 1995 , as if made under the corresponding provision of the Family Law Act, 1995 , or (c) a deed of separation, or (d) a relief order (within the meaning of the Family Law Act, 1995 ) made following the dissolution of a marriage, either of the spouses concerned disposes of an asset to the other spouse then, subject to subsection (2), both spouses shall be treated for the purposes of those Acts as if the asset was acquired from the spouse making the disposal for a consideration of such amount as would secure that on the disposal neither a gain nor a loss would accrue to the spouse making the disposal.
\n(4)
\nof the Family Law Act, 1995 , is hereby repealed.
\nAmendment of section 15 (settled property) of Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 .
\n73.—(1)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (5) of the following subsection: “(5A)(a) Subject to paragraph (b), where— (i) as a consequence of a termination, on the death of the person entitled to it, of a life interest in settled property, subsection (5) applies, and (ii) an asset, which forms the whole or any part of that settled property— (I) is comprised in an inheritance (within the meaning of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Act, 1976 ) taken on the death, and (II) is exempt from tax in relation to the inheritance under section 55 of the said Act of 1976, or that section as applied by section 39 of the Finance Act, 1978 , that asset shall, for the purposes of subsection (5), be excluded from the assets deemed to be disposed of and immediately reacquired. (b) Where in a year of assessment, in respect of an asset an exemption from tax in relation to an inheritance referred to in paragraph (a) ceases to apply, then the chargeable gain which, but for the provisions of paragraph (a), would have accrued to the trustee on the termination of the life interest in accordance with subsection (5) shall be deemed to accrue to the trustee in that year of assessment and shall accordingly be included in the return required to be made by the trustee concerned under section 10 of the Finance Act, 1988 , for that year of assessment.”.
\nAmendment of section 20A (foreign life assurance and deferred annuities: taxation and returns) of Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 .
\n74.—(1) Section 20A (inserted by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1993 ) of the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: “(a) (i) Subsection (2) applies to any policy of assurance or contract for a deferred annuity on the life of any person which is a policy issued or a contract made, as the case may be, on or after the 20th day of May, 1993— (I) otherwise than by an assurance company which is a relevant company, or (II) being a policy or contract which is an excluded policy issued or made, as the case may be, by a relevant company to which subsection (1A) of section 35 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , applies. (ii) In this paragraph and in subsection (3)— ‘assurance company’ and ‘life assurance fund’ have the meanings assigned to them, respectively, in section 50 (2) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 ; ‘an excluded policy’ means a policy of assurance or contract for a deferred annuity on the life of any person where the policy is issued to or the contract is made with, as the case may be, a person who did not continuously reside outside the State throughout the period of six months commencing on the date of issue or the date of contract, as the case may be; a ‘relevant company’ means a company which is— (I) resident in the State, or (II) chargeable under Case III of Schedule D, by virtue of section 43 of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976 , in respect of its income from the investment of its life assurance fund.”, and (b) in subsection (3), by the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: “(a) (i) to a relevant company, and (ii) to every person carrying on in the State a trade or business in the ordinary course of the operations of which he acts as an intermediary in or in connection with the issue of such a policy, or the making of such a contract, in the same manner as it applies to every intermediary within the meaning of that section, and”.
\nAmendment of section 27 (relief for individuals on certain reinvestment) of Finance Act, 1993 .
\n75.—(1) Section 27 (as amended by section 74 of the Finance Act, 1995 ) of the Finance Act, 1993 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) by the substitution for the meanings assigned to “eligible shares”, “ordinary shares” and “unquoted company” of the following: “‘eligible shares’ and ‘ordinary shares’ have, respectively, the meanings assigned to them in Chapter III of Part I of the Finance Act, 1984 ;”, and (ii) by the insertion, after the definition of “trading group” of the following definition— “‘unquoted company’ means a company none of whose shares, stocks or debentures are listed in the official list of a stock exchange or quoted on an unlisted securities market of a stock exchange;”, and (b) in subsection (6) by the insertion after paragraph (a) of the following paragraph— “(aa) A company shall be deemed not to have ceased to be a qualifying company solely by virtue of shares in the company commencing, at any time in the specified period, to be quoted on the market known as the Developing Companies Market of the Irish Stock Exchange.”.
\nAmendment of section 66 (reduced rate of capital gains tax on certain disposals of shares by individuals) of Finance Act, 1994 .
\n76.—Section 66 (as amended by section 63 of the Finance Act, 1996 ) of the Finance Act, 1994 , is hereby amended as respects disposals made on or after the 6th day of April, 1997— (a) by the substitution in the definition of “the specified period” in subsection (1) of “3 years” for “5 years”, (b) by the substitution of the following definition in subsection (1) for the definition of “unquoted company”: “‘unquoted company’ means a company none of whose shares, stocks or debentures are listed in the official list of a stock exchange or quoted on an unlisted securities market.”, and (c) by the substitution in subsection (6) of “26 per cent.” for “27 per cent.”.
\nAmendment of section 39 (amendment of provisions regarding replacement of assets) of Finance Act, 1982 .
\n77.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1982 , is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsection: “(3A) (a) Subject to the following provisions of this subsection, subsection (1) shall not apply to consideration obtained for a relevant disposal where— (i) throughout a period of five years ending with the time of disposal, the old assets, and (ii) the new assets within the meaning of section 28 of the Principal Act, are assets of an authorised racecourse. (b) Section 28 of the Principal Act shall apply in relation to assets of an authorised racecourse as if— (i) references in subsections (1) and (2) of that section to new assets ceasing to be used for the purposes of a trade included a reference to new assets ceasing to be assets of an authorised racecourse, and (ii) paragraph (b) of section (8) had not been enacted. (c) In this subsection— ‘assets of an authorised racecourse’ means assets of a racecourse which is an authorised racecourse where the assets are used for the provision of appropriate facilities or services to carry on horseracing at race meetings or to accommodate persons associated with horseracing, including members of the public; ‘authorised racecourse’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Irish Horseracing Industry Act, 1994 .”.
\nAmendment of section 46 (debts) of Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 .
\n78.—(1)
\nof the Capital Gains Tax Act, 1975 , is hereby amended in subsection (7) (inserted by section 61 of the Finance Act, 1996 )— (a) by the deletion of “or” in paragraph (c), and (b) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (d): “(d) in connection with any transfer of assets as is referred to in section 65 of the Finance Act, 1992 , (e) in connection with any disposal of assets as is referred to in section 66 of the Finance Act, 1992 , (f) in the course of a transaction which is the subject of an application under section 72 of the Finance Act, 1992 , or (g) in pursuance of rights attached to any debenture falling within paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f).”.
\nCustoms and Excise
\nVehicle Registration Tax Interpretation (Chapter I) 79.—In this Chapter “the Act of 1992” means the Finance Act, 1992 .
\nVehicle built up from chassis or monocoque or assembly.
\n80.—Chapter IV of Part II of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 130A (inserted by section 5 (a) of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992 ): “130A.—For the purposes of this Chapter, an unregistered vehicle includes a vehicle— (a) built up from a chassis, or (b) built using a monocoque or an assembly serving an equivalent purpose to a chassis, which chassis or monocoque or assembly is either new and unused or is derived from another unregistered vehicle.”.
\nEvidence of computer stored records in court proceedings.
\n81.—Chapter IV of Part II of the Act of 1992 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 131: “131A.—(1) In this section— ‘copy record’ means any copy of an original record or a copy of that copy made in accordance with either of the methods referred to in subsection (2) and accompanied by the certificate referred to in subsection (4), which original record or copy of an original record is in the possession of the Commissioners; ‘original record’ means any document, record or record of an entry in a document or record or information stored by means of any storage equipment, whether or not in a legible form, made or stored by the Commissioners for the purposes of or in connection with this Chapter and regulations made thereunder and which is in the possession of the Commissioners; ‘provable record’ means an original record or a copy record and in the case of an original record or a copy record stored in any storage equipment, whether or not in a legible form, includes the production or reproduction of the record in a legible form; ‘storage equipment’ means any electronic, magnetic, mechanical, photographic, optical or other device used for storing information.
\nProvided that any authorisation required by the National Archives Act, 1986 , for such destruction has been granted.
\nProvided that the court is satisfied of the reliability of the system used to make or compile— (a) in the case of an original record, that record, and (b) in the case of a copy record, the original on which it was based.
\nProvided that the court is satisfied— (a) of the reliability of the system used to compile or make or keep such records, (b) that, if the event had happened, a record would have been made of it, and (c) that the system is such that the only reasonable explanation for the absence of such a record is that the event did not happen.
\nMiscellaneous Hydrocarbons and substitute motor fuel.
\n82.—(1) In this section— “the Act of 1988” means the Finance Act, 1988 ; “the Act of 1996” means the Finance Act, 1996 ; “the Order of 1975” means the Imposition of Duties (No. 221) (Excise Duties) Order, 1975 ( S.I. No. 307 of 1975 ).
\nAmendment of section 56 (hydrocarbons) of Finance Act, 1988 .
\n83.—(1)
\nof the Finance Act, 1988 , is hereby amended in subsection (3) (as amended by section 80
\nRecycled hydrocarbon oil used as a motor fuel.
\n84.—(1) In this section “motor” means any device that converts hydrocarbon oil or gaseous hydrocarbons in liquid form into mechanical energy to produce motion, and includes a motor vehicle and a stationary engine.
\nTobacco products.
\n85.—(1) In this section and in the Seventh Schedule — “the Act of 1977” means the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 ; “cigarettes”, “cigars”, “fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes” and “other smoking tobacco” have the same meanings as they have in the Act of 1977, as amended by the Imposition of Duties (No. 243) (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Order, 1979 ( S.I. No. 296 of 1979 ), and by Regulations 26 and 29 of the European Communities (Customs and Excise) Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 394 of 1992 ).
\nAmendment of section 1 (interpretation) of Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 .
\n86.—(1)
\nof the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , is hereby amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of the following definitions for the definitions of “cigarettes”, “cigars”, “fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes”, “smoking tobacco” and “tobacco product”: “‘cigarettes’ means— (a) rolls of tobacco capable of being smoked as they are and which are not cigars; (b) rolls of tobacco which, by simple non-industrial handling, are inserted into cigarette paper tubes or wrapped in cigarette paper; (c) products consisting in whole or in part of substances other than tobacco but otherwise conforming to the criteria set out in paragraphs (a) or (b); and to which Council Directive No. 95/59/EC of 27 November 1995* , relates; ‘cigars’ means— (a) rolls of tobacco made entirely of natural tobacco; (b) rolls of tobacco with an outer wrapper of natural tobacco; (c) rolls of tobacco with an outer wrapper of the normal colour of a cigar, and a binder, of reconstituted tobacco, where at least 60 per cent. by weight of the tobacco particles are both wider and longer than 1.75 millimetres and where the wrapper is fitted in spiral form with an acute angle of at least 30 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the cigar; (d) rolls of tobacco with an outer wrapper, of the normal colour of a cigar, of reconstituted tobacco, where the unit weight, not including filter or mouth-piece, is not less than 2.3 grammes and if at least 60 per cent. by weight of the tobacco particles are both wider and longer than 1.75 millimetres and the circumference over at least one third of the length is not less than 34 millimetres; (e) products consisting in part of substances other than tobacco but otherwise conforming to the criteria set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) or (d) provided they have: (i) a wrapper of natural tobacco, (ii) a wrapper and binder both of reconstituted tobacco, or (iii) a wrapper of reconstituted tobacco; and to which Council Directive No. 95/59/EC of 27 November 1995, relates; ‘fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes’ means smoking tobacco in which more than 25 per cent. by weight of the tobacco particles have a cut width of less than 1 millimetre and to which Council Directive No. 95/59/EC of 27 November 1995, relates; ‘smoking tobacco’ means— (a) tobacco which has been cut or otherwise split, twisted or pressed into blocks and which is capable of being smoked without further industrial processing; (b) tobacco refuse which is put up for retail sale and can be smoked and is not a cigar or cigarette;
\n(c) products consisting in whole or in part of substances other than tobacco but otherwise conforming to the criteria set out in paragraphs (a) or (b); and to which Council Directive No. 95/59/EC of 27 November 1995, relates; ‘tobacco product’ means any product specified in the First Schedule to this Act except where such product contains no tobacco and is used exclusively for medical purposes;”.
\nAmendment of section 10A (offences in relation to tax stamps) of Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 .
\n87.—Section 10A (inserted by the Finance Act, 1994 ) of the Finance (Excise Duty on Tobacco Products) Act, 1977 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1) (as amended by the Finance Act, 1995 and the Finance Act, 1996 ) by the insertion of “keeps for sale or delivery,” after “offers for sale,” and by the insertion of “keeping,” after “offer,”, (b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3): “(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be liable— (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment, or (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both the fine and the imprisonment.”, and (c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4): “(4) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) of this section, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown— (a) that duty had not been paid in respect of any pack or packs which do not have a tax stamp affixed thereto, (b) in the case of a prosecution for keeping for sale or delivery, that the tobacco products concerned were so kept and were not kept for private use, and (c) that a thing is a cigarette or other tobacco product where, in the opinion of an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, it is contained in any form of packaging which, by virtue of any wording thereon, its shape and other characteristics, is indicative of the contents consisting of one or more than one cigarette or of another tobacco product and the officer so states that opinion.”.
\nAmendment of section 106 (treatment of excisable products released for consumption in another Member State) of Finance Act, 1992 .
\n88.—
\nof the Finance Act, 1992 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6): “(6) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section or of any regulations made thereunder or any person who takes possession or charge of excisable products to which this section applies in the knowledge that a requirement specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) has not been complied with in respect of those products shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which that person may be liable, be guilty of an offence under the Customs Acts and shall for each offence be liable— (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of £1,000, or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment, (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of three times the value of the excisable products concerned, including any duty or tax chargeable thereon, or £10,000, whichever is the greater, or, at the discretion of the court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both the fine and the imprisonment.”.
\nAmendment of penalties under section 186 (illegally importing) of Customs Consolidation Act, 1876.
\n89.—In section 186 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876