Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979

Section 19(1).

SCHEDULE 2 Consequential Amendments

Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964

1 At the end of paragraph 1(2) of the Schedule to the [1964 c. 28.] Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964 there shall be added the words " nor the operation of sections 1 to 4 and 14 to 16 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 ".

Finance Act 1972

2 In section 17 of the [1972 c. 41.] inance Act 1972, after the subsection (2) inserted by paragraph 10 of Schedule 4 to the [1979 c. 2.] Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(2A) The provisions of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 other than sections 7, 8 and 9(b) (various reliefs for imported goods other than legacies, trade samples and prizes) shall also be excepted from the enactments which are to have effect as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section.”

European Communities Act 1972

3 For section 5(3) of the [1972 c. 68.] European Communities Act 1972 (in this Schedule referred to as " the Act of 1972 ") there shall be substituted the following subsection—

“(3) Schedule 2 to this Act shall also have effect in connection with the powers to make orders conferred by subsections (1) and (2) above.”.

4 In section 6(5) of the Act of 1972, for paragraph (b), there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(b) sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 (including Schedule 1), 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17 and 18 of the Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979 but so that—

(i) any references in sections 1, 3 and 4 to the Secretary of State shall include the Ministers; and

(ii) the reference in section 15 to an application for an authorisation under regulations made under section 2 of that Act shall be read as a reference to an application for an authorisation under regulations made under section 2(2) of this Act;”.

5 In Schedule 2 to the Act of 1972 there shall be added at the end the following paragraphs—

“4 (1) The power to make orders under section 5(1) or (2) of this Act shall be exercisable in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.

(2) The power to make such orders shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and includes power to amend or revoke any such order made in the exercise of that power.

(3) Any statutory instrument containing any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons except in a case falling within sub-paragraph (4) below.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraph (6) below, where an order imposes or increases any customs duty, or restricts any relief from customs duty under the said section 5, the statutory instrument containing the order shall be laid before the House of Commons after being made and, unless the order is approved by that House before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which it was made, it shall cease to nave effect at the end of that period, but without prejudice to anything previously done under the order or to the making of a new order.

In reckoning the said period of 28 days no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which the House of Commons is adjourned for more than 4 days.

(5) Where an order has the effect of altering the rate of duty on any goods in such a way that the new rate is not directly comparable with the old, it shall not be treated for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) above as increasing the duty on those goods if it declares the opinion of the Treasury to be that, in the circumstances existing at the date of the order, the alteration is not calculated to raise the general level of duty on the goods.

(6) Sub-paragraph (4) above does not apply in the case of an instrument containing an order which states that it does not impose or increase any customs duty or restrict any relief from customs duty otherwise than in pursuance of a Community obligation.

5 As soon as may be after the end of each financial year the Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a report on the exercise during that year of the powers conferred by section 5(1) and (2) of this Act with respect to the imposition of customs duties and the allowance of exemptions and reliefs from duties so imposed (including the power to amend or revoke orders imposing customs duties or providing for any exemption or relief from duties so imposed).”.

Finance Act 1977

6 In section 10(4) of the [1977 c. 36.] Finance Act 1977, for the words " those sections " there shall be substituted the words " the said section 6 ".