Finance Act, 1986

Removal of prescribed marker, etc., from hydrocarbon oil.

72.—(1) In this section—

“hydrocarbon oil” and “prescribed” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by section 21 (15) of the Finance Act, 1935 , as amended;

“land” includes any structure on land;

“prohibited goods” means any machinery, apparatus, equipment, vessel, substance or other thing which is being used, or was used, or is intended to be used, in the removal from any hydrocarbon oil of any prescribed marker or for the purpose of impeding the identification in any hydrocarbon oil of any prescribed marker.

(2) No person shall keep prohibited goods in any premises or on any land.

(3) No person shall knowingly deal in any hydrocarbon oil from which any prescribed marker has been removed or to which any substance has been added for the purpose of impeding the identification in the said hydrocarbon oil of any prescribed marker.

(4) A person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (2) or (3) shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty, under the law relating to customs or the law relating to excise (as the case may be) of £1,000, and any prohibited goods and any hydrocarbon oil in respect of which the offence is committed and any hydrocarbon oil found in the premises or on the land at which the offence was committed at the time at which the offence was committed shall be liable to forfeiture, and any conveyance or container or any other thing which was used for the carriage, storage or concealment of any such prohibited goods or hydrocarbon oil shall also be liable to forfeiture.

(5) Whenever a person who is the owner or the occupier for the time being of premises or land in or on which prohibited goods are found is charged in any legal proceedings with contravening subsection (2), the said prohibited goods shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been kept by the said person in the said premises, or on the said land (as the case may be), in contravention of the said subsection.

(6) An officer of the Revenue Commissioners or a member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant a person whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect is committing or has committed an offence under this section.