Ministers Announce Waiver Of Fees Associated With Special Exemption Orders Until End Of April 2022.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, and the Minister for Finance, Mr Paschal Donohoe TD, are both pleased to announce that the court fees and their associated excise duty, relating to Special Exemptions Orders, or so called SEOs, will be waived until the end of April, 2022.

This follows a previous waiver that was in place from October 19th, 2021 to December 31st, 2021.

Prior to the lockdowns, Nightclubs and Late Bars needed to obtain a Special Exemption Order from the District Court for every occasion they want to trade past normal trading hours. SEO permit extended opening hours until 2.30am subject to the Gardaí and Courts agreement.

The Court fee for each Special Exemption Order was €300 and an excise duty of €110 per application was payable to the Revenue Commissioners.

Making the announcement after Cabinet today, Minister McEntee said, “I know that the lifting of restrictions will be warmly welcomed, perhaps no more so than by those working in nightclubs and late bars.
All licence holders, but particularly those serving in the late night trade, have found themselves in such a difficult situation as a result of COVID-19. The Government is committed to supporting these businesses and the night time economy, to get back on their feet in 2022.
We initially introduced the waiver in relation to SEOs for late night trade licence holders, who traditionally trade past normal opening hours in October of last year, and I am delighted to be able to extend this exemption until the end of April, 2022. It will be still necessary for the SEO court application to be made and the order to be obtained by the licensed premises.
I look forward to further changes in this area as part of my reforms to the licensing laws in the forthcoming Sale of Alcohol Bill.”

Minister Donohoe said, “The waiver of court fees and excise duty for special exemption orders recognises the particular difficulties experienced by the sector, where many businesses have been closed for a significant period of time or had to operate at a reduced capacity on reopening last October.”