FEARS OF NEW TARIFF

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1930, Page 7

FEARS OF NEW TARIFF

DUNEDIN IMPORTERS’ VIEWS, . GOODS ON SHIP AT AUCKLAND, Dunedin importers are disturbed ..by tho action of the. collector of customs in refusing to accept payment of duty on goods for Dunedin which arrived' at Auckland per the Argyllshire from th® west of England this week. The. re-, fiisal has been construed as an inter-: ferenoe with the usage which has in the past placed importers in all centres of the Dominion on an equal footing. In view of. the imminence of a revision of the. customs tariff by the Government, Dunedin importers view with alarm the withdrawal of a privilege in respect to clearances that has been enjoyed for many years. Consequently the Otago Importers and Shippers' Association telegraphed the following protest to the Prime Minis-* ter, the Hon, G. W. Forbes: —“Customs have refused clearance of Dunedin goods arrived at Auckland, which has former-, ly, been permitted. This refusal constitutes a serious unfairness to Dunedin merchants, who consequently will have, to trade at a disadvantage compared with ' northern merchants who have cleared their goods before any increase of. duty is announced. We urge that all consignees of any one ship reaching tho Dominion be put upon the same foot-, ing-” ■ ' Similar telegrams were sent to Sir Thomas Sidey and the Hon. W. Bl Taverner. - The opinion was expressed by a rep-: resentstivo of a Dunedin importing firm that there Was something suspicious about [his sudden refusal to accept duty now instead of when the vessel 'arrived in port at Dunedin. No doubt the collector of customs had been advised not to accept the money. In the past when tariff' changes were due, importers had been allowed to clear their goods as soon as the vessel reached a New Zealand port. The Customs Department had the power to refuse such a concession, but this was the first occasion on which im-. porters had not been accommodated. Another importer stressed the point that tho law provided that the duty on any goods should be the duty ruling at the time when a vessel reached a New Zealand port so that legally they had no reason to fear that even if duty changes were made before the Argyllshire arrived at Dunedin they would be penalised to a heavier degree than the Auckland importers who were able, to clear their goods.