DUTY ON SAMPLES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12278, 10 October 1910, Page 3

DUTY ON SAMPLES.

(Per Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, this day. His Honor: the Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, delivered bis reserved judgment m a case wherein George and Doughty, indent agents, Wellington, petitioned against an assessment for the purpose: of import duty on certain unassorted goods, returned samples, by the Customs Department, on the ground that such an assessment was beyond the fair market value of the goodsi The suppliants asked for a. remission of £40 4s Bd, the - alleged excess of duty paid by them. 1 The case was considered n- test case, and the Court was asked to interpret the words, "fair market value." The market value of the goods m. London was not disputed. It was not denied that if any of the goods m biilk were bought m London the 25 to 30 per .cent, discount claimed by the petitioners, and allowed them by the Home merchant, would not be allowed. His Honor, m h)s judgment, pointed out that samples (unassorted goods) sold m two events. First, m. the case where several samples have been taken from stock, and are no longer required by the wholesale house ; or, second, m.: cases where the wholesale house has an agent abroad, and the .samples aTe sold to such agent. "The second event," said his Honor, "was this case so far as the bulk of the samples mentioned m this suit were concerned, if not m all. If the samples we ( re not sold, and there was no longer use _ for them, they could not be returned into the stock, and they would become what had been called a 'job lot/ and if a 'job lot, 1 no doubt the market value would not be the value of the goods m bulk. This was not,] however, the case. This," added his Honor, "comes under the second class, and I am of opinion on two grounds, that the Customs authorities cannot be said to have made, a wrong assessment— (l) The market value must, under section 56, mean the market value of the goods m bulk ; (2) if a. discount is given on this market value, because of arrangements between the wholesale merchant) abroad and the agents here, then, it is a special arrangement. Under section 59 ; such discount is not allowed m considering the value of the goods." In conclusion, his Honor said that the ■giving of such a discount on samples had long been known both iri New Zealand and Australia,' and it had not been allowed as. a deduction from the .market value m either country. Judgment was entered for respondent, with costs according to scale, witnesses' expenses and disbursements (if any).