TWO KILRUSH pubic houses have been ordered to close and the publicans to pay fines for selling spirits on which no duty was paid.
Describing Michael Johnson of Johnson’s Bar, Henry Street, Kilrush as “the worst kind of publican” District Court Judge Patrick Durcan fined him € 4,000 and ordered him to close the pub for seven days from February 4.
“I do not accept he bought these bottles over the counter from someone he did not know and if he did he showed a level of irresponsibility,” he said at the hearing in Klirush on Tuesday.
Mr Johnson had pleaded guilty of having 14 litres of vodka on which appropriate rate of alcohol products tax had not been paid_ Contrary to Section 79 (2) &(7) of Finance Act 2003 as substituted by section 62 of the Finance Act 2005.
In evidence to the court Customs and Excise officer Chris Mulqueen outlined that he called to Johnson’s Bar, on June 20, 2013 and located the bottles of vodka for which no duty had been paid.
He took samples from a bottle of this vodka, tests confirmed that it was under strength and inconsistent with “Smirnoff vodka”. The sample recorded a 33.1 per cent volume as opposed to a 37 per cent volume.
The court heard that Michael Johnson had been running the bar and could not confirm where he got the vodka. He was asked for documents to confirm purchase but did not produce these documents.
Solicitor for the defence Patrick Moylan said his client had paid € 144 for 12 bottles of vodka.
He told the court that if Mr Johnson could identify the seller he would, and that it was not unusual for people to turn up and the pub to sell alcohol.
He said Mr Johnson told him the pub is due to close at the end of February.
Mr Moylan said his client was a good publican and had never been in court before.
Judge Durcan said, “Mr Johnson bought drink from someone he doesn’t know, the quality he knew nothing about and he shelled that out to his customers.”
“In my view, he is the worst kind of publican you can find and not someone who in my view should be authorised to hold a publican’s licence.
“Any publican not knowing the source of alcohol and then dishes it out to their customers – don’t tell the court that he has been a good publican,” he added.
The district court judge said he sympathized with the licensing trade as it was “under extreme pressure.”
He said it was important that customers had faith in their publican however, and it was important that other law-abiding publicans were not put at a disadvantage.
In a separate, but in the words of Michael Linnane, prosecuting for the revenue commissioners, “similar case” the judge fined David Bond of Sheananigans Public House, Frances Street, Kilrush € 2, 500.
He ordered that the public house be closed for two days.
Mr Bond pleaded guilty to not paying the appropriate duty on 10 Litres of spirits.
Customs officer John Grehan gave evidence of finding what he described as “counterfeit vodka” in Shenanigan’s Bar on May 31, 2013.
He said Mr Bond “made frank admissions. He told us where he got it and co-operated fully. He has no previous convictions.”
Solicitor for Mr Bond, said his client was “shocked when he discovered the alcohol was not genuine”.
Mr Linnane informed the court that the maximum fine in cases like these was a fine of € 5,000, which could be mitigated to no less than € 2,500. There is also a mandatory closure order in respect of this, which had to be a minimum of two days, but no more than seven days.