Entertainments Duty Act 1958
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Entertainments Duty Act, 1958
(6 & 7 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 9
An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to entertainments duty.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Charge and rate of entertainments duty.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, there shall be charged, levied and paid on all payments for admission to chargeable entertainments an excise duty (in this Act referred to as ‘entertainments duty’) of the amount (if any) by which the amount of a payment, excluding the amount of the duty, exceeds eleven pence.
(2) The entertainments duty chargeable in respect of any entertainment shall be reduced by one third if the Commissioners of Customs and Excise (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commissioners’), on an application made in such manner as they may direct, are satisfied that—
(a ) the entertainment consists partly of an item or items which make it a chargeable entertainment and partly of other items, but is all given in one auditorium; and
(b ) not less than one quarter of the total time taken by the entertainment (excluding intervals) is taken by those other items.
(3) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of conferring exemptions from entertainments duty.
2 Chargeable entertainments.
2. The entertainments which are chargeable entertainments for the purposes of this Act are entertainments which consist wholly or partly of a cinematograph show or a television show:
Provided that an entertainment shall not be a chargeable entertainment by reason of the inclusion in it of any cinematograph or television show which is merely ancillary to a lecture or exhibition or designed to give instruction or information relevant to the purposes of a lecture or exhibition.
3 Collection of duty.
(1) Entertainments duty shall be charged in respect of each person admitted for payment, and—
(a ) in the case of admission by stamped ticket, shall be paid by means of a stamp on the ticket of admission; and
(b ) in the case of admission otherwise than by stamped ticket, shall be calculated and paid on the number of admissions.
(2) Entertainments duty, in the case of admission otherwise than by stamped ticket, shall be recoverable from the proprietor of the entertainment, and may, if the amount of duty is less than fifty pounds, without prejudice to any other means of recovery, be recoverable by the Commissioners summarily as a civil debt.
(3) No person shall be admitted for payment to any entertainment where the payment is subject to entertainments duty except—
(a ) with a ticket stamped with a stamp (not before used) denoting that the proper entertainments duty has been paid; or
(b ) in special cases with the approval of the Commissioners, through a barrier which, or by means of a mechanical contrivance which, automatically registers the number of persons admitted;
unless the proprietor of the entertainment has made arrangements approved by the Commissioners for furnishing returns of the payments for admission to the entertainment and has given security up to an amount and in a manner approved by the Commissioners for the payment of duty.
(4) If any person is admitted for payment to any place of entertainment and the provisions of this section are not complied with, the person admitted and the proprietor of the entertainment to which he is admitted shall be liable in respect of each offence to a penalty, in the case of the person admitted of five pounds, and in the case of the proprietor of fifty pounds, and the proprietor shall in addition be liable to pay any duty which should have been paid.
(5) The provisions (including the penal provisions) of the Stamp Duties Management Act, 1891, as amended by any subsequent Act, and the provisions set out in the Second Schedule to the Post Office Act, 1953, shall apply to the stamps used for denoting entertainments duty.
4 Special provisions as to payments for admission by lump sum, &c.
(1) Where the payment for admission to an entertainment is made by means of a lump sum paid as a subscription or contribution to any club, association or society, or for a season ticket or for the right of admission to a series of entertainments or to any entertainment during a certain period of time, then subject to the provisions of this section the entertainments duty shall be paid on the amount of the lump sum.
(2) Where payment for admission to two or more entertainments is made by means of a lump sum within the meaning of the foregoing subsection and the Commissioners are satisfied—
(a ) that the lump sum constitutes full payment for admission to each of the entertainments in respect of which it is paid; and
(b ) that all of those entertainments are to take place within a period of one year,
the amount of the duty to be charged in respect of that sum shall be an amount equal to the aggregate of the amounts (if any) which would be charged by way of duty if separate payments were made for admission to each of those entertainments, being payments of such amounts as appear to the Commissioners to be proportionate respectively to the values of the rights of admission to those entertainments, and of which the aggregate is equal to the said lump sum.
(3) Where payment for admission to two or more entertainments is made by means of a single payment representing the aggregate of separate prices of admission to those entertainments respectively, and not being a lump sum within the meaning of subsection (1) of this section, and the Commissioners are of opinion that the said prices of admission as taken for the purpose of arriving at the single payment are not substantially proportionate to the respective values of the rights of admission to the entertainments to which they relate, the Commissioners may direct that the amount of the duty to be charged in respect of the said payment shall be ascertained in accordance with the provisions of the last foregoing subsection as if that payment were a payment to which that subsection applies, and those provisions shall have effect accordingly.
5 Special provisions as to combined payments for admission and other benefits.
5. Where the Commissioners are of opinion that the payment of a lump sum or any payment for a ticket represents payment for other privileges, rights or purposes besides the admission to an entertainment, the entertainments duty shall be charged on such an amount as appears to the Commissioners to represent the right of admission to entertainments.
6 Regulations.
(1) The Commissioners may make regulations for securing the payment of entertainments duty and generally for carrying the provisions of this Act into effect, and in particular—
(a ) for the supply and use of stamps or stamped tickets, or for the stamping of tickets sent to be stamped;
(b ) for securing the defacement of stamps when used;
(c ) for the use of tickets covering the admission of more than one person and the calculation of the duty thereon;
(d ) for the payment of duty on the transfer from one part of a place of entertainment to another; and
(e ) for controlling the use of barriers or mechanical contrivances (including the prevention of the use of the same barrier or mechanical contrivance for payments of a different amount) and for securing proper records of admission by means of barriers or mechanical contrivances.
(2) The power to make regulations conferred by this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(3) If any person acts in contravention of or fails to comply with...
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