§ 68. Sir JOHN HASLAMasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that certain makers of proprietary medicines offer their products to the public at one fixed retail price, although in certain cases the goods bear no patent medicine stamp and in other cases the selfsame article has the full Government stamp; and whether he will take steps to prevent this evasion of the law and loss of public revenue?
§ Major ELLIOTI assume that my hon. Friend is referring to cases where a medicine is sold unstamped by duly qualified chemists and druggists under the conditions of the statutory exemption from Medicine Stamp Duty in favour of "known, admitted and approved of" remedies, but is properly stamped when sold by other persons than qualified chemists and druggists. I would explain that the question of the prices charged is not a matter in which I can interfere, and I am not aware of any infringement of the law in such cases.
§ Sir J. HASLAMIs this privilege granted by the Board of Inland Revenue without Parliamentary sanction, and has not the result been that during a period of two years the number of patent medicine licences has increased by 23 per cent., while the actual receipts have decreased by 21 per cent. during the same period, causing a very serious loss to the national Exchequer?
§ Major ELLIOTNo exemptions can be granted by the Department without the permission of Parliament.