Spirit Duties Act 1735
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1735 c. 23 |
| Year | 1735 |
(9 Geo. 2) C A. P. XXIII.
'WHEREAS the drinking of Spirituous Liquors or Strong Waters is become very common, especially among the People of lower and inferior Rank, the constant and excessive Usewhereof tends greatly to the Destruction of their Healths, rendering them unfit for useful Labour and Business, debauching their Morals, and inciting them to perpetrate all Manner of Vices; and the ill Consequences of the excessive Use of such Liquors are not confined to the present Generation, but extend to future Ages, and tend to the Devastation and Ruin of this Kingdom:' For Remedy whereof, may it please your most Excellent 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 Authorityof the same, That from and after the twenty-ninth Day ofSeptember in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six, no Person or Persons whatsoever shall presume, by him, her or themselves, or by any other Person or Persons whatsoever employed by him, her or them, or for his, her or their Benefit, to sell or retale any Brandy, Rum, Arrack, Usquebaugh, Geneva, Aqua Vitoe , or any other distilled Spirituous Liquors, or Strong Waters, unmixed, or mixed with themselves or any other Ingredients, and by whatsoever Name or Names they are or may be called, publickly or privately, in any less Quantity than two Gallons, without first taking out a Licence for that Purpose, as is herein after directed, within ten Days at least before he, she or they shall sell, or offer to sell, or retale the same, for which he, she or they shall immediately upon taking out thereof pay down for the same the Sum of fifty Pounds in Mannerfollowing; that is to say, If such Licence be taken out within the Limits of the Penny Post, then the same shall be paid at the Chief Office of Excise inLondon , or at any other Place, and to such Persons as his Majesty's Commissioners for the Duties of Excise for the time being shall appoint to receive the same; and that such Persons as by the said Commissioners shall be appointed, are hereby impowered to deliver such Licences to any such Person or Persons upon his, her or their paying down for the same the aforesaid Sum of fifty Pounds at the Time of taking out thereof; but if such Licenceshall be taken out without the Limits aforesaid, then the same shall be paid by all and every the Persons so taking out such Licence at the Office of Excise next adjoining to the Place where he, she or they respectively reside or inhabit, or at any other Place, and to such Persons, as his Majesty's Commissioners for the Duties of Excise for the time being shall appoint to receive the same; and such Persons as by the said Commissioners shall be appointed, are hereby impowered to deliver such Licences to any such Person or Persons, upon his, her or their paying down for the same the aforesaid Sum of fifty Pounds at the Time of taking out thereof.
II The like Sum to be paid on renewing the Licence every Year, 10 Days before the Expiration of the old one.
II. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Person or Persons, that shall take out such Licence as aforesaid, is and are hereby required to take out a fresh Licence ten Days at least before the Expiration of twelve Months after the taking out of the first Licence, before he, she or they do presume or offer to sell any such Spirituous Liquors in any less Quantity than two Gallons, and in the same Manner to renew such Licence from Year to Year, paying down the like Sum of fifty Pounds for such and every new or renewed Licence, at the Places, and at the Times before-mentioned; and if any Person or Persons shall presume or offer to sell or retale any of the said Spirituous Liquorsin any less Quantity than aforesaid, without taking out such Licence, and renewing the same yearly, as in Manner aforesaid, he, she or they shall respectively forfeit and lose the Sum of one hundred Pounds for each Offence.
III Geo. 2. c. 26. 24 Geo. 2. c. 40. 20 s. per Gallon on all Spirituous Liquors retaled after 29 Sept. 1736, to be paid by the Retalers.
III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That for all such Spirituous Liquors, or Strong Waters, by whatever Name or Names they are or may be called, as any Person or Persons retailing them, or any of them, in any less Quantity than aforesaid, or any Person or Persons in Trust for him, her or them, or for his, her or their Use or Benefit, shall be possessed of, or interested in, upon the said Twenty-ninth Day ofSeptember one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six, or at any Time after, there shall be raised and paid unto your Majesty, our Heirs and Successors, a Duty after the Rate of twenty Shillingsfor every Gallon thereof, and in that Proportion for a greater or lesser Quantity, to be paid by the respective Retalers thereof, over and above all other Duties charged and chargeable on the same.
IV Such Liquors retaled in England, &c. to be under the Management of the Commissioners of Excise.
IV. And, for the better ascertaining, charging, collecting, raising, levying and securing the Rates and Duties by this Act imposed on the said Spirituous Liquors, and preventing Frauds therein, be it further enacted by he Authority aforesaid, That such of the said Rates and Duties by this Act granted, as are charged upon such Spirituous Liquors as shall be retaled inEngland, Wales , or the Town of Berwick upon Tweed , shall be under the Receipt and Management of the Commissioners and Officers of his Majesty's Revenue of Excise in England for the time being; and such of the said Rates and Duties as are imposed by this Actupon such Spirituous Liquors as shall be retaled inScotland , shall be under the Receipt and Management of the Commissioners and Officers of the Excise in Scotland for the time being; which said several and respective Commissioners of Excise, or the major Part of them, shall be his Majesty's Commissioners for granting such Licences for retaling such Spirituous Liquors; and the said respective Commissioners of Excise, or the major Part of them, have hereby Power by Commission under their respective Hands and Seals to constitute and appoint under them such Officers as shall be necessary in that Behalf; and all Monies arising by the said Duties and by the Licences for the Sale thereof herein before-mentioned (the necessary Charges of raising and accounting for the same excepted) shall from time to time be paid into the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer distinctly and apart from all other Branches of the publick Revenues, subject and liable to the Uses and Purposes herein after mentioned.
V The Act 12 Car. 2. for taking away the Court of Wards and Liveries, &c. and all others relating to the Excise on Ale, &c. to be in Force for recovering these Duties.
V. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every the Powers, Authorities, Directions, Methods, Penalties, Forfeitures, Clauses, Matters and Things, which in and by an Act made in the twelfth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King Charles the Second, intituled,An Act for taking away the Court of Wards and Liveries, and Tenures in Capite, and by Knight Service, and Purveyance, and settling a Revenue upon his Majesty in lieu thereof , or by any other Law now in Force relating to his Majesty's Revenue of Excise upon Beer, Ale, and other Liquors, as are provided, settled or established for managing, levying, raising, collecting, mitigating or recovering, adjudging, or ascertaining the Duties thereby granted, or any of them, (other than in such Cases for which other Penalties or Provisions are prescribed by this Act) shall be exercised, applied, used and put in Execution in and for the managing, raising, levying, collecting, mitigating, adjudging, ascertaining, recovering and paying the Duties upon the said Spirituous Liquors by this Act granted, as fully and effectually to all Intents and Purposes, as if all and every the said Powers, Authorities, Rules, Directions, Methods, Penalties, Forfeitures, Clauses, Matters and Things were particularly repeated and again enacted in the Body of this present Act; and that one Moiety of the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures, by this Act granted, shall go and be paid to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety thereof to the Person or Persons who shall inform or sue for the same.
VI An Entry in Writing to be made of all Warehouses, &c. at the next Office of Excise, 10 Days before...
To continue reading
Request your trial