Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 1991

[12 March 1991]

WHEREAS it is expedient to establish temporary arrangements for granting relief from customs duty in connexion with capital investment in a hotel:

[title and preamble amended by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

[words of enactment omitted]

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 1991.

[section 1 amended by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

Construction and interpretation

2 (1) This Act shall be construed as one with the Customs Tariff Act 1970 [title 14 item 12] and, accordingly, any expression used in this Act that is used in that Act has the meaning in this Act that it has in that Act unless the contrary is expressed or implied.

(2) In this Act—

"application" means application for an approval;

"approval" means approval under section 4, and "approve" has a corresponding meaning;

"the Collector" means the Collector of Customs;

"the Customs Tariff" means the rates of duty and other provi sions specified in the five Schedules to the Customs Tariff Act 1970 [title 14 item 12], as having effect under that Act;

"hotel" has the meaning that it has in the Hotels (Licensing and Control) Act 1969 [title 17 item 2];

"hotelier" means a person who either holds a valid license under the Hotels (Licensing and Control) Act 1969 [title 17 item 2]as an operator in respect of a hotel, or who has planning permission to construct a new hotel or refurbish an existing hotel.

"import" means import into Bermuda;

"planning permission" has the meaning assigned to that expression by section 1 of the Development and Planning Act 1974 [title 20 item 1];

"relief" means the relief from customs duty described in section 6;

"scheme" means a capital investment scheme for a hotel;

"statutory period", in relation to goods in respect of which relief has been granted, means–

(a) where the goods were imported before 1st December 1990, the period of five years beginning on that date;

(b) in any other case, the period of five years beginning on the date the goods were imported.

[Section 2 amended by 1997 : 5 effective 20 March 1997; and by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

Applications for approval of schemes

3 (1) A hotelier may apply to the Minister for a scheme to be ap proved in respect of his hotel.

(2) An application shall be made in writing and furnish such

information as the Minister may require.

(3) Requirements made under subsection (2) may differ as between different applications.

Minister may grant or refuse approvals

4 (1) The Minister may grant or refuse approval of a scheme, or may grant approval subject to such conditions as he specifies in the ap proval.

(2) The Minister shall not grant or refuse an approval without first consulting the Minister responsible for Tourism.

(3) The Minister shall refuse an approval if he determines that it is not in the public interest that an approval should be granted.

(4) The Minister need not give any reasons for granting, or at taching conditions to, or refusing, an approval.

(5) The decision of the Minister to grant an approval, or to grant an approval subject to conditions, or to refuse an approval, is final for all purposes and is not subject to any appeal.

Applicants to be informed of outcome

5 As soon as the Minister has determined an application under section 4, he shall cause notice in writing of approval, or approval sub ject to conditions, or refusal, as the case may require, to be delivered to the applicant.

Customs duty relief

6 (1) Goods to which an approval applies are entitled to relief, that is to say, customs duty in respect of them is 0% ad valorem notwithstanding that a different rate of duty may be prescribed by the Customs Tariff.

(2) Goods to which an approval applies must be goods falling within the description in the Schedule.

(3) If any question arises in any case as to the scope or mean ing of any term used or provision made in the Schedule, that question shall be decided by the Minister alone, whose answer is final and not subject to any appeal.

[section 6 amended by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

Administration of relief

7 (1) Subject to this Act, relief may be made available to entitled persons by such administrative methods and procedures as the Collec tor may establish.

(2) Relief shall not be made available in respect of goods—

(a) except in response to a claim in writing; and

(b) unless, subject to subsection (3)—

(i) the goods are imported on or before 31 March 2001; and

(ii) the claim is received by the Collector no later than one month after that date.

(3) The Minister may by an order made under this subsection before 31 March 2001 delete that date from subsection (2) and substitute a later date.

(4) An order made under subsection (3) is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

[Section 7 amended by 1993:7 effective 18 March 1993; by BR 16/1994 effective 31 March 1994, by 1995:6 effective 22 March 1995; and by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

Duties of claimants for relief

8 (1) Either of the following (but none other) may be a claimant for relief in respect of goods, namely,—

(a) the hotelier in question himself;

(b) that person, being a person in Bermuda, who supplied the goods to the hotelier.

(2) A person who will be making a claim for relief by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall make himself known to the Collec tor as soon as may be so that the requirements of this section may be fulfilled in relation to him.

(3) Every person to whom this subsection applies shall, throughout the period beginning, in the case of a hotelier, on the day he ordered or imported or purchased the goods and, in any other case, on the day the person in question ordered or imported the goods, and ending six months after the expiry of the statutory period—

(a) maintain at his place of business in Bermuda such full and proper records of the goods as the Collector may from time to time require; and

(b) whenever so required by the Collector, within 24 hours produce, for inspection by the Collector or any person authorized by him for the purpose, those records or such portion of them as the Collector may specify.

(4) Subsection (3) applies to every hotelier for whom a scheme has been approved and to every person who will be making a claim for

relief by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1).

(5) The Collector may give to any person to whom subsection (3) applies such reasonable directions as the Collector deems necessary for the purpose of ensuring that relief is made available to persons enti tled to relief and is not enjoyed by others; and a person to whom such a direction is lawfully given shall comply with the direction.

(6) A hotelier for whom a scheme has been approved shall, whenever so required by the Collector during the period mentioned in subsection (3), permit the Collector or any person authorized by him for the purpose to inspect the hotel premises, or, as the case may be, the goods, to which the approved scheme applies.

Cancellation of approvals

9 (1) The Minister may cancel an approval under this section in the case of fraudulent or deceitful conduct on the part of the hotelier in question, being fraudulent or deceitful conduct affecting the approval, or for other good cause.

(2) Before the Minister cancels an approval under this section, he shall—

(a) give the hotelier in question notice in writing of the rea son why he is minded to cancel the approval; and

(b) afford the hotelier an opportunity to make objection in writing within the period of 14 days after receipt of the notice; and

and, if the Minister thereafter decides to cancel the approval, he shall cause an order cancelling the approval to be served on the hotelier.

(3) An order cancelling an approval takes effect on the date on which it is served under subsection (2).

(4) Such an order is final for all purposes and is not subject to any appeal.

Customs duty where duty-relieved goods are disposed of

10 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where a person intends, within the statutory period, to dispose of goods to any other person, being goods in respect of which relief has been made available to any person under this Act, then that first-mentioned person shall—

(a) inform the Collector of his intention prior to the dis posal, and thereafter comply with any directions that the Collector may give him in writing as to the furnish ing of information about the disposal; and

(b) prior to the disposal pay to the Collector by way of duty an amount equal to the duty which would be payable in respect of the goods if they were then being imported, reduced by the net amount of duty that was paid in re spect of the goods.

(2) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) does not apply in relation to goods disposed of to the United States Authorities in the Leased Areas, or to any contractor employed by those Authorities, for use in construc tion or maintenance of those Areas.

(3) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a disposal arising by reason that the hotel premises in question are sold to a purchaser or leased to a tenant, being a purchaser or tenant who is a hotelier.

Offence: failing to comply with requirement, etc.

11 If a person fails without reasonable excuse (the proof of which is upon him) to comply with a requirement or direction made of or given to him under this Act by the Collector, he commits an offence against this section.

Offence: false information, etc.

12 If a person—

(a) (i) in or in relation to an application makes to the Minister any statement; or

(ii) otherwise under this Act supplies to the Minis ter or the Collector any information,

which that person knows to be false or does not believe to be true; or

(b) without reasonable excuse (the proof of which is upon him) fails to disclose to the Minister or the Collector any information which that person knows or believes, or ought reasonably to know or believe, that he is expected to supply pursuant to a requirement made of him under this Act,

he commits an offence against this section.

Other offences

13 (1) If a person fails to comply with a duty or prohibition im posed upon him by or under a provision to which this section applies, he commits an offence against this section.

(2) The provisions to which this section applies are subsections (3) and (6) of section 8 and subsection (1) of section 10.

Penalties and forfeitures

14 (1) A person who commits an offence against section 11 is li able to forfeit a penalty not exceeding $1,200.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a person who commits an offence against section 12 or 13 is liable to forfeit a penalty not exceeding $6,000.

(3) Where duty is lost to the Revenue as a result of an offence having been committed against section 12 or 13, subsection (2) of this section has effect subject to the insertion next after "$6,000" of the words "or, at the election of the Collector, five times the amount of the duty lost to the Revenue by reason of the commission of the offence,".

(4) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that the provisions of sections 110, 111, 112, 114 and 115 of the Revenue Act 1898 [title 14 item 10] apply mutatis mutandis in relation to penalties and forfeitures un der this section as those provisions apply in relation to penalties and forfeitures under that Act.

(5) Subsection (4) of this section is without prejudice to the application in relation to penalties and forfeitures under this section of any other provision of the Revenue Act 1898 [title 14 item 10] that is also applicable in relation to those penalties and forfeitures according to the tenor of that provision.

(6) Any offence against this Act is triable by a court of summary jurisdiction.

Offences by corporations

15 Where an individual who has committed an offence against this Act was at the time he committed the offence a director, manager, secre tary or other similar functionary of a body corporate and committed the offence in that capacity, then the body corporate also is guilty of the of fence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

SCHEDULE (Section 6(2))

GOODS TO WHICH AN APPROVAL OF A SCHEME MAY APPLY FOR PURPOSES OF RELIEF

1. The goods must be capital goods to be used in in a capital investment scheme for a hotel

2 [deleted by 1997 : 5]

[Paragraphs 1 and 2 deleted and substituted by 1997 : 5 effective 20 March 1997; and paragraph 1 amended by 1998 : 5 effective 18 February 1998]

3 For the purposes of paragraph 1, "goods"—

(a) does not include construction equipment;

(b) means goods imported on or after 1st December 1990, except that the Collector may in any particular case direct that goods imported before 1st December 1990 may be allowed relief for special reasons.

[Amended by:
BR 31/1992
1993 : 7
BR 16/1994
1995 : 6
1997 : 5
1998 : 5]

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 1991