Mineral Oil Tax Regulations 2012

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2012
• Citation: IR SI 231/2012

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd July, 2012.

The Revenue Commissioners, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 104 of the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999), by section 153 of the Finance Act 2001 (No. 7 of 2001), and by section 917EA (inserted by section 164 of the Finance Act 2003 (No. 3 of 2003)) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997), hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Mineral Oil Tax Regulations 2012.

Commencement

2. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations shall come into operation on 1 July 2012.

(2) Regulations 23 to 27 shall come into operation on 1 January 2013.

Revocation

3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Mineral Oil Tax Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 442 of 2001 ) are revoked on 1 July 2012.

(2) Regulation 31 of the Mineral Oil Tax Regulations 2001 is revoked on 1 January 2013.

Interpretation

4. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1999” means the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999);

“Act of 2001” means the Finance Act 2001 (No. 7 of 2001);

“approved” means approved by the Commissioners;

“capacity”, in relation to any return required by these Regulations to be made by electronic means, means sufficient access to such means for the purposes of making such a return;

“Colour Index” means the Colour Index, 4th. Edition (as revised from time to time), published by the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists;

“dark oil” means heavy oil which is darker than ASTM Colour 3.0 in the Table of Glass Colour Standards included in “Standard Method of Test for ASTM Colour of Petroleum Products” adopted as a joint ASTM-IP standard, with ASTM designation D 1500-98 and IP designation IP 196/97, which appears in the “IP Standard Methods”, when the heavy oil and ASTM Colour 3.0 are compared in the manner described in that publication for that method of test;

“marked gas oil” means gas oil to which the markers prescribed in Regulation 29 have been added;

“marked kerosene” means kerosene to which the markers prescribed in Regulation 29 have been added;

“mineral oil tax warehouse” means a tax warehouse approved under section 109 of the Act of 2001 for the production, processing, holding or dispatch of mineral oil under a suspension arrangement;

“mineral oil trader” means any person who produces, sells or deals in, keeps for sale or delivery, or delivers, any mineral oil;

“mineral oil trader’s licence” means an auto-fuel trader’s licence or a marked fuel trader’s licence granted under section 101 of the Act of 1999;

“mineral oil trader’s premises” means any premises or other place where mineral oil is produced, sold or dealt in, or kept for sale or delivery, by a mineral oil trader;

“proper officer” in relation to any duty or function referred to in these Regulations means an officer with responsibility for that duty or function in any particular case;

“reduced rate” means an effective rate of tax lower than the appropriate standard rate, and includes the net rate applicable after full or partial relief from tax under any provision of the Act of 1999;

“specified description”, in respect of mineral oil, means a description of mineral oil in Schedule 1, or any other description of mineral oil that the Commissioners may specify in any particular case for the purposes of these Regulations;

“spectrophotometer” means an instrument for measuring photometric intensity of each colour or wavelength present in an optical spectrum;

“tax” means mineral oil tax;

“vessel” means any receptacle suitable for holding liquid.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and which is also used in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Act of 1999 has, unless a meaning is assigned to it by paragraph (1) or the contrary intention otherwise appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Chapter.

(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and which is also used in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Act of 2001 has, unless a meaning is assigned to it by paragraph (1) or (2) or the contrary intention otherwise appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Chapter.

PART 2

MINERAL OIL IN A TAX WAREHOUSE

Responsibilities of proprietors and tenants

5. (1) In this Regulation “proprietor” and “tenant” have the same meaning as they have in section 109 of the Act of 2001.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the provisions of this Part and of Part 3 apply to an authorised warehousekeeper who is the proprietor of the mineral oil tax warehouse concerned.

(3) A proper officer may, in any particular case, require that any provision of this Part or of Part 3 shall apply to a tenant, in respect of mineral oil produced, processed or held by a tenant in a mineral oil tax warehouse.

Applications for authorisation and approval

6. (1) Every application for authorisation of a person as an authorised warehousekeeper, and for approval of any premises or place as a mineral oil tax warehouse, under section 109 of the Act of 2001, shall—

(a) be in such form as the Commissioners may require, and

(b) contain the information specified in Schedule 2 and such other information as the Commissioners may, from time to time, require.

(2) The Commissioners may, in any particular case, require the applicant to provide any additional information that they consider necessary for their consideration of the application.

(3) Where an application concerns the approval of a premises or place as a mineral oil tax warehouse, the applicant shall show to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the premises or place concerned is suitable for the security of the mineral oil to be held in such premises or place.

Securing mineral oil and stock control

7. (1) An authorised warehousekeeper shall, in respect of mineral oil in a mineral oil tax warehouse—

(a) ensure that there is no unauthorised access to,

(b) produce promptly on request, to a proper officer, and

(c) on the last working day of each month, and at any other time that a proper officer may require, take stock of,

such mineral oil, and inform a proper officer immediately in writing of the result of that stocktaking, and of any deficiency, surplus or other discrepancy.

(2) If it appears that an irregularity may have occurred—

(a) in respect of mineral oil in a mineral oil tax warehouse, or

(b) in the course of a consignment of mineral oil to a mineral oil tax warehouse,

the authorised warehousekeeper shall—

(i) immediately inform a proper officer, and

(ii) retain the mineral oil for examination if so required by a proper officer.

Removal of mineral oil from a mineral oil tax warehouse

8. (1) Mineral oil may only be removed from a mineral oil tax warehouse—

(a) on payment of the appropriate tax in accordance with an approved payment arrangement,

(b) under a suspension arrangement, or

(c) where a full relief from tax has been granted under section 100 of the Act of 1999 or section 104 of the Act of 2001, and in accordance with an approved procedure.

(2) In the case of a removal of mineral oil under paragraph (1)(c), the Commissioners may impose conditions, including the provision of security for the amount of tax relieved.

Warehouse to warehouse consignments within the State

9. (1) Where mineral oil is removed from a mineral oil tax warehouse for consignment under a suspension arrangement to another mineral oil tax warehouse in the State, the authorised warehousekeper who consigns the mineral oil shall complete an approved delivery document in three copies (referred to in this Regulation as “copy one”, “copy two” and “copy three”).

(2) Before a consignment is dispatched, the authorised warehousekeeper shall sign the completed delivery document, retain copy one and send copies two and three with the consignment.

(3) The authorised warehousekeeper who receives the consignment shall endorse copies two and three with particulars of the mineral oil received, retain copy two and return copy three to the consigning authorised warehousekeeper.

(4) The consigning authorised warehousekeper shall make every effort to ensure that copy three is returned as required under paragraph (3), and where it is not returned within 10 working days of the dispatch of the consignment that authorised warehousekeeper shall inform a proper officer accordingly.

Return of tax paid mineral oil to a mineral oil tax warehouse

10. Where tax has been paid on mineral oil removed from a mineral oil tax warehouse, that mineral oil may only be returned to that mineral oil tax warehouse, and only where the Commissioners are satisfied that—

(a) the mineral oil has become contaminated, or

(b) the mineral oil is to be exported under a customs procedure, or supplied for a use that is relieved from tax under section 100(2) of the Act of 1999, or

(c) exceptional circumstances apply and the Commissioners consider it proper to so allow.

PART 3

MINERAL OIL WAREHOUSEKEEPERS ACCOUNTS AND RETURNS

Home consumption account

11. An authorised warehousekeeper shall keep a monthly account of the mineral oil removed by that authorised warehousekeper from a mineral oil tax warehouse for consumption in the State, showing, for each specified description of mineral oil, the quantities so removed, the rate of tax, and the amount of tax payable.

Home consumption returns

12. (1) An authorised warehousekeeper shall furnish to a proper officer, in such form as the Commissioners may require, a return of the tax payable on mineral oil of each specified description removed from the mineral oil tax warehouse, or otherwise released for consumption, during a month or such other period as the Commissioners may require.

(2) A return under paragraph (1) shall be furnished even where there are...