TYRE AND TUBE STOCKS —«—

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24236, 19 April 1944, Page 3

TYRE AND TUBE STOCKS —« —

SERIOUS POSITION EMPHASISED RESTRICTIONS ON ISSUE OF .PERMITS Because of the serious position Of stocks of various sizes of passenger car tyres, and a deterioration in the supply position, it has been decided , to make certain changes in the issue of permits for the purchase of these tyres, says a statement issued by the Ministry of Supply. Until further notice, no permits will -be issued for new passenger car tyres and tubes except for the sizes' 475 to 700 x 16 inclusive, 450 to 550 x 17 inclusive, and 325-350-400 x 19. , ' . Permits will be issued for these sizes only to applicants .whose requirements come strictly under one of the follow-', ing headings: (a) production, importa-. • tion and distribution of the necessities of life, and the prosecution of the.war effort; (b) vital services of the Government and local bodies; (c) health and educational services; (d) essential transport facilities. - , Under (d) .the only farmers who can - be considered are those who require . their cars principally for the carriage of farm produce and household necessities. In the immediate future at least,, no other farmers can" be provided for. Reissue of Permits The holder of any permit for new tyres and tubes issued before May 1, 1944, which has not been used for the purchase of a tyre or tube from an authorised tyre dealer or importer by April 30, is required to send it immediately after that date to the district oil fuel controller who issued it All permits for truck tyres and tubes, and for car tyres and tubes falling under the classes considered essential (as enumerataed above) will be reissued by the district oil fuel controller. All permits for car tyres and tubes in the remaining sizes will be held by the district oil fuel controllers for reissue as the stock position improves. After April 30, no dealer or importer will be authorised tc sell tyres or tubes on a permit which has not been reissued. Permits not sent to the district oil fuel controllers by May 10 will be automatically cancelled, and no permit may be altered except by the issuing authority. Retreading Facilities. Some dealers are holding stocks of tyres in sizes which cannot be obtained from importers' stocks, continues the statement. Because of the poor supply position, all dealers who have stocks of tyres other than those mentioned above are asked to refrain from selling these tyres before April 30, except with the authority of the Ministry of Supply. Because of the acute tyre position, the Ministry desires all motorists to take full advantage of the retreading facilities available, and it is' proposed to take action against those who run their tyres beyond the retreading stage. Permits for retreading can be obtained by. any petrol licence holder on application to his district oil fuel controller. While there have been a number of complaints about car tyre retreading, the quality of the camelback used for this purpose has been improved, and the Ministry expects that the general results will be much more satisfactory in the future. The statement adds that all authorised tyre dealers, firms holding new or second-hand tyres for resale, and car wrecking firms are to forward monthly stock returns to the Commissioner of Supply not later than the 7th of Ihe following month. All sales invoiced bv importers up to the end of the month are to be included in the return for that month. A "nil" return must be forwarded for the month of April, even if there have been no sales during the month and if there are no stocks on hand. Failure to send in returns by the required date will result in the person or firm concerned losing his status as an authorised inspector, quite apart from the statutory penalties which will be inflicted.