IMPORT LICENSES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19825, 30 December 1938, Page 4

IMPORT LICENSES

ISSUES AT GISBORNE

SMALL TOTAL TO DATE TRADERS HOLDING BACK ADVICE TO APPLICANTS The number of licenses issued to date by the Gisborne branch of the Customs Department under the new regulations governing the importation of goods from overseas now stands at 40, and the great majority have been issued to firms with headquarters elsewhere which have indented goods for delivery in this district.

In this connection, it is of interest to note that licenses have to be obtained at the port of entry; in other words, the place where customs duty is paid. A firm with headquarters in Wellington, having an order for Australian hardwood poles for the Poverty Bay Electric-Power Board, would secure its license from the Gisborne office, and not from Wellington. On the other hand, poles taken into stock at Wellington would be imported under license issued there. Putting Off the Worries

Traders in Gisborne have not yet shown any anxiety concerning their stocks of goods for the ensuing months. Most firms appear to have put off until after the holidays the worries associated with the new regulations, though in a majority of cases the preparation of returns covering imports for the past 12 months, in conformity with the regulations, has been put in hand.

One probable result of the new restrictive regulations will be that small importers will switch their business through larger firms, and that the business ol importing eventually will be confined to a comparatively small number of agencies. The necessity of making out returns covering past operations, and of ensuring that license applications comply with the requirements of the Customs Department, will place a heavy burden upon the smaller establishments. Specialised Clerical Work The Customs Department officers throughout the Dominion have had a heavy load placed upon them by the new scheme of imports control, and it is reported that at the main centres the Christmas period has been one of overtime work rather than of holiday for every experienced servant of the department. It seems a foregone conclusion that substantial additions will have bo be made to staffs throughout the country, and that a concentration of business through a number of major importing agencies will be to the benefit of the department. The administration of the new regulations is not a simple matter. The development of a routine system for dealing with importations would be favoured by the elimination of small importers. Those engaged in importing activities are now being warned by the department that all goods are to be listed on the application forms under their tariff numbers. The conditions of licenses will be applied _ strictly, and it is desired that no importer should find himself later in the position of being refused entry for goods ordered but not properly specified in the license application.