LEVY ON WOOL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3829, 4 November 1936, Page 4

LEVY ON WOOL

REQUIREMENTS OF NEW ACT. FURNISHING OF RETURNS. In a statement in Wellingtin yesterday the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, draws the attention of wool manufacturers in the Dominion to the requirements of the Wool Industry Promotion Act, 1936, which came into force on October 31, and which provides for the imposition 'of a levy on wool produced in New Zealand, the proceeds being utilised for the purpose of increasing the production and use of wool. For the purposes of the Act a wool manufacturer means a person who porfoms any process in the manufacture of raw wool other than the processes of washing and scouring. In the case of wool intended for use in New Zealand the levy is payable by the wool manufacturer by whom it is acquired for use on delivery of the wool to him or any person on his behalf. The levy should be paid to the collectors of Customs at the port nearest the place of business of the wool manufacturer. Within 28 days after the passing of the Act every person carrying on business as a wool manufacturer is required to advise the collector of Customs at the port nearest to his place of business of the address of such business and the name under which it is carried on. Similar advice must be given within 28 days after commencing business by every person who proposes to carry on the business of a wool manufacturer. All wool manufacturers are required to furnish to the nearest collector of Customs within 28 days after the end of each month a return setting forth the total number of bales or other packages of wool delivered to them during the preceding month. •The return must be verified by a declaration and must be accompanied by the amount of the levy payable. All declarations are exempt from stamp duty.

If the levy is not paid within 28 days after the end of the month in which it became payable a 10 per cent additional levy will be added. The form in which the returns are to be made is being prescribed by regulations under the ActFailure to furnish any return or statement or the furnishing of false returns is punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding £2O, and offences of this nature are deemed to continue from day to day as long as the default continues. The rates of levy to be imposed on wool for the current season ending on September 30, 1937, have been fixed as follows: 6d pei‘ bale, 3d per fadge, and Id per bag or sack. MARKET PROSPECTS SOUND. At the moment the statistical position and the prospects for wool are sound. The sales in Australia this season have been satisfactory so far, though Japan is holding off. and there is every hope that the results of the New Zealand auctions will be profitable to the grower. Wool, however, is a commodity that fluctuates very greatly, and the industry cannot count on the present conditions being maintained indefinitely; therefore the need for efficient productive methods is imperative. It is only necessary to point out that the Dominion’s income from wool for the 1935-36 season was just on ten million pounds to show what a vital part the industry plays in this country’s fortunes. The Wool Industry Promotion Bill is a step in the right direction, and the proposed constitution of the executive committee indicates that the money collected will be spent under the direction of men who are fully conversant with the various aspects of the production of wool and the disposal of the clips. —Dunedin Evening Star,