DELAYED GOODS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 310, 31 December 1940, Page 4

DELAYED GOODS.

IMPORTERS PENALISED. MINISTER AGAIN APPROACHED. In view of the fact that further ship ments of goods under fourth period imporl licensee scheduled to arrive in tin Dominion by to-day will now not arriv* until the New Year, the Bureau oi Importers has addressed a further lettoi to the Minister of Customs, the Hou. \Y Naeh, asking him to exclude these ship ment« from the period covered by fifth period licensee, which begins to-morrow On December 23 the Bureau asked for a similar concession in respect of shipment* from Australia and the East, but th« Minister replied that he was unable tc accede to the request. Since then, states the Bureau in iU latest letter to the Minieter, the position has been accentuated by the fact that a shipment scheduled to leave Xew York in November had been cancelled, and would not now arrive before the expiry date fot third and fourth period licenses. Further two boats scheduled to leave England last month had not yet arrived. The Bureau adds that it had previously instructed it« members to comply with the Minister'* request not to execute orders unless the (roods would arrive in New Zealand by today. •'lt Is manifestly unfair that because of circumstances entirely beyond our control, end in particular brought about by the exigencies of war, that our members should forfeit the outstanding balances of their licenses, especially as they had budgeted their overseas purchases on the assumption that shipments would arrive to norma! schedule, otherwise they would have expended their licenses at an earlier date and avoided the possibility of surrendering any portions of them, ,, states the Bureau. In regard to the Minister's desire to commence the fifth licensing period with a "clean slate." the letter points out that such was impossible, as the Minister had already stated that shipment! lost through enemy action would be replaced without prejudice to fifth period licenses. The Bureau failed to see any substantial difference between shipments lost through enemy action and shipments postponed'or cancelled because of the navyi instructions. The Burean then names shipments affected so far as they have knowledge, all of which wen to have carried cargoes which normally would ha»« been cleared under third and fourth period licenses. It asks the Minister to make concessions in regard to these shipments and any similar shipments.