CUSTOMS RETURNS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 79, 2 March 1938, Page 5

CUSTOMS RETURNS.

REVENUE FOR MONTH. BUOYANT AT WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, March 1. Customs revenue collected at Wellington continues very buoyant, substantial increases being recorded for all major items for February compared with February, 1937. The net Customs revenue for the expired 11 months of the financial year is £473,249 above tliat for the corresponding period of 1936-37, and £996,225 higher than in 1935-36. Sales ta.x is up by £220,218 over 1936-37, and by £421,970 over 1935-36. The net Customs revenue collected at Wellington last month totalled £262,071, compared with £242,850 in February, 1937, an increase of £19,221. For the 11 months of the financial year, the revenue totals £3,527,810, compared with £3,054,561 for the corresponding period of 1936-37, an increase of £473,249.

The duty collected on motor spirit last month totalled £43,272 at 6d a gallon and £28,848 at 4d a gallon, a total of £72,120, compared with £41,952 at 6d a gallon and £27,968 at 4d a gallon, a total of £69,920 for February, 1937, an increase of £2200. For the 11 months the figures are £786,476,and £706.229 respectively, an increase of £80,247. The amounts collected at 4cl a gallon are already included in the net Customs revenue given above, being paid into the Consolidated Fund, as distinct from those at 6d a gallon, which go to the Main Highways Fund. Collections of tyre ta.x last month amounted to £lll9 compared with £IBB6 in February, 1937. a decrease of £767. For the 11 months there is an increase of £4809, the figures being £24,992 and £20,813 respectively. Collections of sales tax in February totalled £81,994, compared with £69,454 in February, 1937, an increase of £12,540. The total for .the 11 months, £1,250,227, shows an increase of £220,218 over last year’s total of £1,030,009. This tax came into force on February 10, 1933. and the total so farcollected at Wellington is £4,584,896. Beer excise collections for February totalled £6649, compared with £6037 in February, 1937, an increase of £612. For the 11 months the figures are £70,404 and £61,078 respectively, an increase of £9326. INCREASES IN AUCKLAND. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Feb. 28. ■ Continued increases in all classes of Customs and excise duties, with the exception of tyre duty, were shown in the collections at Auckland in February, as compared with those for the corresponding month last year. Customs duties realised £274,728, an increase of £9OBO over the amount, received in February, 1937. For the first two months of this year the total obtained from Customs, motorspirit and tyre duties u T as £734,746,- as compared with £655,203 over the same period in 1937. Returns from the sales tax continue to mount, an increase of £9507 being shown ■when compared with February last year. Similarly the excise on beer advanced from £13,750 to £17,367. The Customs revenue for the last 11 months of the current financial year stands at £3,245,797, an increase over the same period in 1936-37 of ' £319,114. DUNEDIN FIGURES. Per Press Association. DUNEDIN, Feb. 28. The Customs returns for the port of Otago for the month just ended are about on a par with those for the month of February, 1937. the only substantial increases being in beer tax and petrol tax. Compared with January, the figures for the past month show a considerable decrease in all sections. During the past month £26,942 was collected in beer duty, compared with £21,940 for February of last year. The greater part of the difference is accounted for by the fact that there were only three duty days in February, 1937. Compared with the figures for January, the returns for the month just closed are more than £SOOO less, but there were five duty days during January. Following are the returns for the month of January, shillings and pence omitted :

CHRISTCHURCH RETURNS. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, March 1. Customs revenue for February in Christchurch totalled £150.795 against £137,801 last February, For the 11 months ended February 28 the revenue was £1,087,234 against £1,706,722 last year, Highor revenue has been received under almost every heading. There was h notable increaso in sales tax from £27,713 in February, 1987, to £82,270 in February this year. Among other increases nro general Customs £85,154 this year ns against £79,805 last year, and petrol tax £23,861 this year against £91,262 last year. Tha items in the returns are as follow, the figures for February, 1937, being shown first,—Customs, £79.805, £85,164} excise an beer, £6SBJ, £7284; fld a gallon on petrol (Main Highways Board revenue), £21,262, £.23,861; tyre duty, £997, £6BB ; sales tax, ;£2?xi§, £32,279; light dues on shipping, £295, £470; export levies on wow, £340, £401; export levies op meat, £728, £618; miscellaneous, £'?4 v £4O; totals, £137,801, £150,795,

1938 1937 £ £ Customs revenue .. 55.827 58.612 Beer duty .. 26,942 21,940 Sales tax .. 19.035 18,118 Petrol tax .. 10,387 14,110 Tyro tax ... ' 488 401 Gold export duty .... .. 1,281 1,579 Wool export levy ... 324 —