Finance Act 1984
1984 c. 43
An Act to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the National Debt and the Public Revenue, and to make further provision in connection with Finance.
[26th July 1984]
1 Duties on spirits, beer, wine, made-wine and cider.
(1) In section 5 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (excise duty on spirits) for “£15.19" there shall be substituted “ £ 15.48 ”.
(2) In section 36 of that Act (excise duty on beer) for “£21.60" and “£0.72" there shall be substituted “ £24.00 ” and “ £0.80 ” respectively.
(3) For the provisions of Schedule 1 to that Act (rates of excise duty on wine) there shall be substituted the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act.
(4) The rates of duty on made-wine shall be the same as those on wine and, accordingly, in section 55(1) of that Act for the words “ Schedule 2" there shall be substituted the words “ Schedule 1 ”.
(5) In section 62(1) of that Act (excise duty on cider) for “£9.69" there shall be substituted “ £14.28 ” ....
(6) This section, and Schedule 1 to this Act, other than the paragraphs headed “Interpretation", shall be deemed to have come into force on 14th March 1984.
(1) In section 6(1) of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 (rates of duty on hydrocarbon oil) for “£0.1630" (light oil) and “£0.1382" (heavy oil) there shall be substituted “ £0.1716 ” and “ £0.1448 ” respectively.
(2) In section 11(1)(a) of that Act (rebate on kerosene, other than aviation turbine fuel) for the words “of £0.0022 a litre less than" there shall be substituted the words “ equal to ”.
(3) This section shall be deemed to have come into force at 6’oclock in the evening of 13th March 1984.
(1) In section 14 of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 (rate of gaming licence duty), for the Table set out in subsection (1) there shall be substituted the following Table—
Table
Part of gross gaming yield | Rate
The first £375,000 | 2½ per cent.
The next £1,875,000 | 12½ per cent.
The next £2,250,000 | 25 per cent.
The remainder | 33⅓ per cent.
(2) This section shall have effect in relation to gaming licences for any period beginning after 31st March 1984.
(1) For the purpose of providing for gaming machine licences to be granted, in certain circumstances, in respect of gaming machines instead of in respect of premises and of providing for whole-year gaming machine licences granted in respect of premises to run from different dates in different parts of Great Britain, the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 shall have effect subject to the amendments set out in Schedule 3 to this Act.
(2) The amendments made by Part I of Schedule 3 shall not have effect in relation to any licence granted for a period beginning before 1st October 1984; and the Act of 1981 shall have effect subject to Part II of Schedule 3 (which makes transitional provision in relation to certain licences first having effect after 30th September 1984 but before 1st February 1986).
The provisions set out in Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act (which provide for special areas, to be known as free zones, to be designated for customs and excise purposes) shall be inserted in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 after Part VIII as a new Part VIIIA, and that Act shall have effect with the amendments specified in Part II of that Schedule (which also relate to free zones).
(1) The Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 shall have effect with the amendments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act, being amendments relating to the entry of goods on importation.
(2) Paragraph 1 of that Schedule shall come into force on 1st January 1985.
14 Reliefs from duty and value added tax in respect of imported legacies.
(1) For section 7 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 (relief from customs or excise duty on imported legacies) there shall be substituted—
Power to provide for reliefs from duty and value added tax in respect of imported legacies.
7 (1) The Commissioners may by order make provision for conferring reliefs from duty and value added tax in respect of goods imported into the United Kingdom by or for any person who has become entitled to them as legatee.
(2) Any such relief may take the form either of an exemption from payment of duty and tax or of a provision whereby the sum payable by way of duty or tax is less than it would otherwise be.
(3) The Commissioners may by order make provision supplementing any Community relief, in such manner as they think necessary or expedient.
(4) An order under this section—
(a) may make any relief for which it provides or any Community relief subject to conditions, including conditions which are to be complied with after the importation of the goods to which the relief applies;
(b) may, in relation to any relief conferred by order made under this section, contain such incidental and supplementary provisions as the Commissioners think necessary or expedient; and
(c) may make different provision for different cases.
(5) In this section—
“Community relief” means any relief which is conferred by an EU instrument and is of a kind, or of a kind similar to that, which could otherwise be conferred by order made under this section;
“duty” means customs or excise duty chargeable on goods imported into the United Kingdom and, in the case of excise duty, includes any addition to the duty by virtue of section 1 of the Excise Duties (Surcharges or Rebates) Act 1979;
“legatee” means any person taking under a testamentary disposition or donation mortis causa or on an intestacy; and
“value added tax” means value added tax chargeable on the importation of goods.
(2) In section 17 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 (parliamentary control of orders and regulations), in subsection (3), after the figure “4"there shall be inserted “ 7 ”.
(3) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on 1st July 1984.
15 Extension to certain Community reliefs of power to make supplementary provision.
(1) Section 13 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 (orders providing for personal reliefs from duties etc.) shall be amended as provided by subsections (2) to (5) below.
(2) After subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection—
(1A) The Commissioners may by order make provision supplementing any Community relief, in such manner as they think necessary or expedient.
(3) In subsection (3)(a), after the word “provides" there shall be inserted the words “ , or any Community relief ”.
(4) In subsection (3)(b), after the word “may" there shall be inserted the words “ , in relation to any relief conferred by order made under this section, ”.
(5) In subsection (4) there shall be inserted at the appropriate place—
“Community relief” means any relief which is conferred by an EU instrument and is of a kind, or of a kind similar to that, which could otherwise be conferred by order made under this section;.
(6) In section 17 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 (parliamentary control of orders and regulations), in subsection (4), after the figure “13" there shall be inserted “ (1) ”.
(7) In the Isle of Man Act 1979—
(a) in section 8 (removal of goods from Isle of Man to United Kingdom), in subsection (3), the words “ or under any EU instrument ” shall be inserted after the words “imported goods)" and the words “ or under the EU instrument in question ” shall be added at the end; and
(b) in section 9 (removal of goods from United Kingdom to Isle of Man), in subsection (5), the words “ or under any EU instrument ” shall be added at the end.
(8) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on 31st March 1984.
57 Proceedings in magistrates’ courts and county courts.
(1) In section 65 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (recovery of assessed tax in magistrates’ courts)—
(a) in subsection (1) for “£50" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted “ £250 ”;
(b) in subsection (4) for the words from “in the manner" to the end there shall be substituted the words “ in proceedings under Article 62 of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 ”; and
(c) at the end of that section there shall be added the following subsection—
(5) The Treasury may by Order made by statutory instrument increase the sums specified in subsection (1) above; and any such statutory instrument shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73 Insurance business of registered friendly societies.
(1)—(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) In consequence of the preceding provisions of this section and subsection (5) below, in . . . section 7 of the Friendly Societies Act 1974 (societies which may be registered),—
(a) paragraph (a) of subsection (3), and
(b) subsection (3A),
shall not have effect with respect to benefits secured by contracts made after 13th March 1984.
(5)—(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(7) If, after 13th March 1984, the committee of a registered society or branch whose rules make provision for it to carry on life or endowment business resolve to accept, in respect of any contract falling within subsection (8) below, premiums of amounts arrived at by deducting 15 per cent. from the premiums provided for by the rules of the society or branch (that is to say by deducting the same amount as, apart from section 72 above, would have been deductible by way of relief under section 19 of the Taxes Act),—
(a) the resolution shall be deemed to be permitted by the principal Act and the rules of the society or branch; and
(b) nothing in the principal Act shall require the registration of the resolution; and
(c) together with the annual return of the society or branch for the year of account ending 31st December 1984, the society or branch shall send a copy of the resolution to the registrar.
(8) Subsection (7) above applies to any contract entered into by a registered society or branch—
(a) which is for the assurance under life or endowment business of any gross sum; and
(b) which is entered into pursuant to a proposal received by the society or branch on or before 13th March 1984; and
(c) which is one which the society might lawfully have entered into on that date; and
(d) which is entered into after 13th March 1984 and before 1st May 1984.
(9) In subsection (7) above “the principal Act” means, according to the enactment under which the society or branch is registered,—
(a) the Friendly Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1970; or
(b) the Friendly Societies Act 1974;
and subsections (7) and (8) shall be construed as one with the principal Act.