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Dunnes Stores has lost its legal challenge to a €36.5 million
tax assessment arising from the use of plastic bags.
The company had
challenged the regulations imposing the plastic bag
levy after the Revenue Commissioners served it with tax assessments
covering 2004 to 2008.
The Revenue Commissioners say charges arising from the levy
are uncollected and due.
Dunnes claimed in court that the definition of a plastic
bag in the regulations was so uncertain as to render the regulations
invalid.
It claimed the levy related to larger bags given to customers
at the checkout to hold their shopping, but that the tax assessments
wrongly included other bags used for wrapping fruit, vegetables
or other items for hygiene purposes.
Dunnes argued that the tax assessments amounted to an unlawful
attempt to apply the levy to flimsy plastic bags supplied
for the purpose of wrapping goods and supplied otherwise than
at the point of sale.
It also claimed the Revenue commissioners refused to provide
them with information as to how it calculated the money that
was allegedly due.
Mr Justice John Hedigan ruled against Dunnes on all points.
He found the levy was not limited to carrier bags as argued
by the supermarket chain and said the point of the legislation
was to reduce as much as possible the presence of discarded
plastic bags littering our towns and countryside.
He said it would be most improbable that the legislature
would exempt plastic bags that are supplied anywhere other
than at a point of sale. Such a provision would miss large
numbers of plastic bags and diminish greatly the impact of
the Act.
He said there was nothing unfair in the procedures followed
by the Revenue Commissioners.
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