OVER-VALUED GOODS.

Northern Advocate, 25 January 1922, Page 6

OVER-VALUED GOODS.

A CUSTOMS DIFFICULTY

The Customs law permits the Controller of Customs to revalue goods that .have been held in bond for not less than two years, if ihe is satisfied thnt ij) the meantime /the value of the , goods has decreased. So/me New Zealand importers are ihokiing goods that were bought at peak prices and have not yet been cleared, .and they (have suggested that they should be allowed to pay duties on the reduced values without waiting for the end of « period of two years. Tliis (matter was mentioned in the House of Representatives by Mr J, V. Brown (Napier). I

The Minister of Customs (Mr. W. D. Stewart) replied that he understood the position. As the law stood at prcseiit, the importer of t<hc,se high-priced goods had to pay on the 'original value, or wait two years for a revaluation and send the floods back to the coun-i-nos of origin. He agreed that it wonVi be an advantage to the Customs Department as well as to the importers if the Customs law had moire elasticity in this respect. But the trouble •was that some importers had already re-exported goods or paid the duties at tho high prices .and suffered the loss. TJie firms thai had carried their loss would suffer a serious injustice if other firms were permitted now to pay a reduced dmy on goods that had paid the full duty. He would have been glad I if t-he Department had bad a discretion from the start. But he did not think he could make the concession to parti (".:1 a r firms now.