Finance Act 1949

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1949 c. 47


Finance Act , 1949

(12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6) 47

An Act to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the National Debt and the Public Revenue (other than Purchase Tax), and to make further provision in connection with Finance.

[30th July 1949]

Most gracious Sovereign,

We , Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom in Parliament assembled, towards raising the necessary supplies to defray Your Majesty's public expenses, and making an addition to the public revenue, have freely and voluntarily resolved to give and grant unto Your Majesty the several duties hereinafter mentioned; and do therefore most humbly beseech Your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King'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:—

I Customs and Excise

Part I

Customs and Excise

S-1 Tea.

1 Tea.

(1) The duties of customs chargeable under section one of the Finance Act, 1936, on tea shall cease to be chargeable, but in lieu thereof there shall, in the case of tea imported into the United Kingdom and not being an Empire product within the meaning of subsection (1) of section eight of the Finance Act, 1919, be charged a duty of customs at the rate of twopence the pound.

(2) Section fourteen of the Finance Act, 1924 (which, as amended by section twelve of the Finance Act, 1925, makes provision for the allowance of drawback on the exportation or shipment as stores of certain blended tea) shall extend to blended tea prepared wholly or partly from tea in respect of which the customs duty chargeable under this section has been paid.

(3) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the seventh day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-2 Reduction of duties on beer.

2 Reduction of duties on beer.

(1) Section one of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939 (which imposes duties of excise and customs in respect of beer and provides for drawbacks from those duties), shall have effect as if the First Schedule to this Act were substituted for the First Schedule to that Act:

Provided that this section shall not apply to reduce any drawback in respect of beer as to which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that duty was paid at the rate in force before the coming into force of this section.

(2) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the seventh day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-3 Continuation of duties on hops, etc. and beer.

3 Continuation of duties on hops, etc. and beer.

(1) The duties charged by virtue of subsection (1) of section one of the Finance Act, 1945, until the end of the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, namely—

(a ) the duties of customs charged on hops and extracts, essences or other similar preparations made from hops under subsection (1) of section seven of the Finance Act, 1925; and

(b ) the duty of customs charged on hop oil under the proviso to subsection (1) of section four of the Finance Act, 1929; and

(c ) the additional duty of customs charged in respect of beer under subsection (2) of section two of the Finance Act, 1933,

shall continue to be charged until the end of the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and fifty-three.

(2) The drawback allowed by virtue of subsection (2) of section one of the Finance Act, 1945, until the end of the fifteenth day of November, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, namely, the additional excise drawback allowed in respect of beer under subsection (4) of section two of the Finance Act, 1933, shall continue to be allowed until the end of the fifteenth day of November, nineteen hundred and fifty-three.

S-4 Wines.

4 Wines.

(1) In lieu of the duties of customs charged on wines under section three of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1939, there shall (subject to the next following subsection) be charged on wines imported into the United Kingdom duties of customs at the rates set out in the Second Schedule to this Act, the rates specified in the second column thereof applying to wines which are not Empire products and those specified in the third column to wines which are.

(2) If at any time the Treasury are satisfied that an increase of a shilling in each of the rates specified in the said Second Schedule for light wines which are Empire products would not contravene any of the Ottawa agreements for the time being in force they shall by order increase those rates by a shilling, but shall revoke the order on being satisfied at any time that the increase does contravene one of those agreements; and those rates shall also be increased by a shilling in the case of wines produced or manufactured in a country the Government of which is a party to one of the Ottawa agreements at any time when that agreement is not in force.

(3) Subsection (2) of section eight of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1890 (which provides that wine rendered sparkling in warehouse is to be deemed to be sparkling wine for the purpose of certain duties charged on sparkling wine), shall apply for the purpose of the duties charged on sparkling wine by this section as it applied for the purpose of the duty mentioned in that subsection.

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a ) the expression ‘Empire product’ has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section eight of the Finance Act, 1919;

(b ) the expression ‘Ottawa agreement’ means an agreement scheduled to the Ottawa Agreements Act, 1932, as for the time being varied by mutual consent;

(c ) the expression ‘wine’ includes the lees of wine.

(5) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the seventh day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-5 Sweets.

5 Sweets.

(1) The duty of excise on sweets charged under section six of the Finance Act, 1927, shall be charged at the rates specified in the Third Schedule to this Act instead of at the rates specified in the Fifth Schedule to the Finance Act, 1948.

(2) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the seventh day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-6 Sugar.

6 Sugar.

(1) As respects sugar, molasses and glucose, the rates of the duties of customs and excise, of the preferential reduction under section eight of the Finance Act, 1925 (which relates to Empire products), and of any drawback of those duties under subsection (2) of section four of the Finance Act, 1928, shall be those applicable immediately after the passing of the Finance Act, 1934; and any certificate issued under section one of the last mentioned Act (which relates to certificated colonial sugar) shall have effect accordingly.

(2) Accordingly those rates, and the rates of the duties and reduction in the case of saccharin, shall be as set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act (which is to be construed in accordance with paragraph 9 of Part III of the Second Schedule to the said Act of 1928).

(3) For the purposes of section seven of the Finance Act, 1926 (which provides for stabilising imperial preference as at the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-six), the rates specified in Part I of the said Schedule shall be deemed to have been the rates in force immediately before that day.

(4) Any reduction effected by this section in the rates of any drawbacks shall not have effect in relation to any goods as respects which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that duty was paid at the rates in force before the commencement of this section.

(5) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from five o'clock in the evening of the sixth day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-7 Matches.

7 Matches.

(1) In lieu of the duties of customs charged on matches under section four of the Finance Act, 1940, there shall be charged on matches imported into the United Kingdom duties of customs at the rates specified in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Act.

(2) In lieu of the duties of excise charged on matches under the said section four there shall be charged on matches manufactured in the United Kingdom duties of excise at the rates specified in Part II of the Fifth Schedule to this Act.

(3) Subsections (4) and (5) of section three of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916 (which made supplemental provision for the purpose of the duties under that section), shall apply for the purpose of all duties of customs or excise from time to time charged on matches.

(4) This section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the seventh day of April, nineteen hundred and forty-nine.

S-8 Mechanical lighters.

8 Mechanical lighters.

(1) The duty of customs charged under section six of the Finance Act, 1928, on the importation into the United Kingdom of any mechanical lighter and of any component part of a mechanical lighter other than a flint shall (instead of being charged at the rate directed by section five of the Finance Act, 1940) be charged at the rate of seven shillings or, in the case of a gas lighter or component part of a gas lighter, at the rate of five shillings.

(2) The duty of excise charged under the said section six on every mechanical lighter manufactured in the United Kingdom which is complete, or which could be made complete by the addition of a flint, and on every mechanical lighter sent out in an incomplete state from the premises of a manufacturer of mechanical lighters, shall...

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