IMPORT LICENCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26275, 5 October 1946, Page 8

IMPORT LICENCES

REASONABLE ATTITUDE RESTRICTION OF PERIODS BALANCING EXCHANGE RESOURCES Importei-s, especially those who are in close touch with Chamber of Commerce activities, are not surprised by the announcement that the Government will not consider any extension of 1946 import licences beyond March 31, 1947, and that in all likelihood 1947 licences will expire on December 31, 1947. A message from Wellington published yesterday stated that this .information had been given to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, and a Dailv Times reporter found that tne general attitude towards any attempt to have the licence period exended beyond March 31 was that “ we would be banging our heads against a brick W lt l- was explained that the Government wanted to be able to take stock of the position and see what calls were likely to be made on its exchange resources at a given date, a thing which it has not been able to do before. “This is reasonable enough.” the reporter was told. i. will not mean any reduction in licence allocations. In fact, when the whole position is properly straightened out, it may well mean that increases in allocations will be possible.” The Governing Factor Although in the past licence periods have been extended until June, the Government was justified in an effort to make each licensing period seltcontained. The object was to enable the allocation to each period of a predetermined and maximum amount of exchange, which could not be done it there was always an overlapping into one period as the result of extensions granted of the preceding period. This practice had resulted in a tendency not to allocate the maximum exchange because of the necessary call on exchange resources represented by extensions of current licences depleting exchange that would otherwise be available for succeeding licences. The question was discussed in a circular letter recently issued by the Associated Chambers of Commerce. Although a great deal of importance was placed by many importers on the extension of period licences, it stated, the governing factor was the total exchange available for the. importation of goods each 12 months. If an importer obtained an extension of his current licence, therefore, it necessarily meant, from an over-all exchange point of view, a commensurate reduction in the amount of exchange available to him in the succeeding period. Difficulties Lessening There was justification for extensions to June in the past, the reporter was informed, because of the difficulties presented by lack of shipping and by the inability of United Kingdom manufacturers to deliver goods within specified times. The shipping position was less acute now. although there were still many problems arising from day to day, and United Kingdom manufacturers were gradually proaucing order out of the immediate post-war confusion and were becoming increasingly able to meet orders in the normal r fhe=e improvements eliminated the justification for extensions, and it was in the interests of importers that the whole position should be placed ori a clear annual footing as soon as possible. The necessity for making provision for “ hang-overs " from year to year merely resulted in a reduction in the exchange available for the on cuing year and consequently a reduction S in the licence allocation, a state of affairs which led iiowhere except to further confusion and hardship to lm porters as their United d angportunities increased. If the hang over” were eliminated, it was stated, more exchange would be available t meet the next year’s requirements. imd it might well be possible to make general increase in allocations.