Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979

General provisions relating to spiritsU.K.

26 Importation and exportation of spirits.U.K.

(1)Save as permitted by the Commissioners, spirits shall not be imported—

(a)in any ship of less than 40 tons register; or

(b)in containers of a capacity of less than [F140 litres] each unless in bottles properly packed in cases.

(2)Save as permitted by the Commissioners, spirits other than bottled spirits shall not be exported, or be removed to the Isle of Man, or be brought to any place or be waterborne for exportation or for removal to the Isle of Man, in containers holding less than [F140 litres] each.

(3)Any spirits imported, exported, removed, brought or waterborne contrary to this section shall be liable to forfeiture.

(4)Where any ship is or has been [F2in United Kingdom waters] while having on board or attached in any manner thereto any spirits in containers other than such as are permitted by or under subsection (1) of this section, the ship and any such spirits found therein shall be liable to forfeiture.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (1) above, all hovercraft (of whatever size) shall be treated as ships of less than 40 tons register and subsection (4) above shall apply as if any reference to a ship included a reference to a hovercraft.

27—30.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3U.K.

31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4U.K.

32 Restriction on transfer of British spirits in warehouse.U.K.

(1)No spirits in a distiller’s warehouse may be transferred to a purchaser until the distiller has given such security for the payment of duty as the Commissioners may require, . . . F5

(2)Spirits manufactured in the United Kingdom chargeable with duty which has not been paid which are in any warehouse other than a distiller’s warehouse shall not be transferred into the name of a purchaser until the purchaser produces to the officer in charge of the warehouse a written order for the delivery of the spirits signed by the person in whose name they are warehoused and countersigned by the occupier of the warehouse or a servant of his acting for him at the warehouse.

(3)Any spirits duly transferred in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be discharged from any liability under the Customs and Excise Acts 1979 in respect of the non-payment of any duty or penalty by the transferor.

33 Restrictions on use of certain goods relieved from spirits duty.U.K.

(1)If any person uses otherwise than for a medical or scientific purpose—

(a)any mixture which has on importation been relieved to any extent of the duty chargeable in respect of the spirits contained in it or used in its preparation or manufacture by reason of being a mixture which is recognised by the Commissioners as being used for medical purposes; or

(b)any article containing spirits which were exempted from duty under section 7 above; or

(c)any article manufactured or prepared from spirits in respect of which [F6remission] of duty has been obtained under section 8 above; . . . F7

(d). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F7

he shall, unless he has complied with the requirements specified in subsection (2) below, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of three times the value of the mixture or article so used or [F8level 3 on the standard scale], whichever is the greater, and any article in his possession in the preparation or manufacture of which the mixture or article has been used shall be liable to forfeiture.

(2)The requirements with which a person must comply to avoid incurring liability under subsection (1) above are that—

(a)he must obtain the consent of the Commissioners in writing to the use of the mixture or article otherwise than for a medical or scientific purpose; and

(b)he must pay to the Commissioners an amount equal to the difference between the duty charged on the mixture and the duty which would have been chargeable if it had not been a mixture recognised as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above, or to the amount of the duty [F9remitted], as the case may be.

(3)The Commissioners may make regulations for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this section.

(4)Regulations under subsection (3) above may in particular require any person carrying on any trade in which spirits, or mixtures or articles containing or prepared or manufactured with spirits, are in the opinion of the Commissioners likely to be or to have been used—

(a)to give and verify particulars of the materials which he is using or has used and of any such mixtures or articles which he has sold; and

(b)to produce any books of account or other documents of whatever nature relating to any such materials, mixtures or articles.

(5)If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any regulation made under subsection (3) above he shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of [F10level 3 on the standard scale].

(6)In this section “mixture” includes a preparation and a compound, and any reference to a mixture or article includes a reference to any part thereof.

34 Prohibition of grogging.U.K.

(1)No person shall—

(a)subject any cask to any process for the purpose of extracting any spirits absorbed in the wood thereof; or

(b)have on his premises any cask which is being subjected to any such process or any spirits extracted from the wood of any cask.

(2)Any person contravening any provision of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of [F11level 3 on the standard scale].

(3)All spirits extracted contrary to this section and every cask which is being subjected to any such process or which, being upon premises upon which spirits so extracted are found, has been subjected to any such process shall be liable to forfeiture.

35 Returns as to importation, manufacture, sale or use of alcohols.U.K.

(1)The Commissioners may, in so far as it seems to them expedient so to do for the purposes of protecting the revenue arising from the duties on spirits, make regulations requiring importers, manufacturers, sellers or users of—

(a)the following alcohols, that is to say, methyl, propyl, butyl or amyl alcohol, or

(b)any of the isomeric forms of such alcohols,

to furnish returns containing such particulars as may be prescribed by the regulations in respect of the importation, manufacture, sale or use by any such persons of any of the articles specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) above.

(2)Provision may be made by any regulations under this section for requiring persons by whom and premises on which any such articles are manufactured to be registered.

(3)If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any regulation made under this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of [F12level 1 on the standard scale].