HC Deb 02 May 1939 vol 346 cc1715-7

8. "That on and after the twenty-sixth day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine—

  1. (a) the rate of additional duty chargeable under the Import Duties Act, 1932, on un- exposed sensitised photographic plates and film, other than X-ray plates and film, shall be such as will, with the rate of the general advalorem duty, amount to ninepence per square foot;
  2. (b) the provisions of Sub-section (4) of Section six of the Finance Act, 1938 (which relate to duties on Empire goods) shall apply in relation to unexposed sensitised photographic plates and film, other than X-ray plates and film, subject, in the case of plates and film other than cinematograph film, to the modification that the preferential rate shall be fivepence per square foot instead of two-thirds of the aggregate full rate of the duties applicable to the goods;
  3. (c) no unexposed sensitised photographic plate or film shall on re-importation be admitted free of duty under Section fourteen of the Import Duties Act, 1932, unless any excise duty which was chargeable has been paid and either no drawback was allowed on exportation or any drawback so allowed has been repaid;
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  4. (d) the additional duties chargeable under the Import Duties Act, 1932, on exposed cinematograph film of the classes or descriptions specified in the first column of the following Table, shall, whether the film is or is not Empire goods, be at such rates as with the rate of the general advalorem duty will amount to the rates specified in the second column of that Table:

TABLE.
Film— Per linear foot.
(i) of a width not exceeding one inch; or
(ii) containing only a single sound track; or
(iii) shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners to be a duplicate of film on which Customs Duty has been paid at the rate of sixpence per linear
foot and not refunded 2d.
Other film 6d.

  1. (e) in the case of a film of a greater width than the standard width of one and three-eighths inches, the Customs Duty in the cases mentioned in the last preceding paragraph shall be increased in proportion to the ex tent to which the width is greater than the standard width;
  2. (f) if, in the case of any exposed cinematograph film, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners either—
    1. (i) that the production of the film was organised by persons whose chief or only place of business was in Great Britain or Northern Ireland and the producer of the film and all the principal actors and artists employed for the production thereof, except five, or, if the total number of principal actors and artists is less than twenty, not less than three-quarters of the principal actors and artists, were British subjects and domiciled in Great Britain or Northern Ireland; or
    2. (ii) that the Board of Trade have certified that the requirements of Sub-section (3) of Section twenty-seven of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927, or of Sub-section (1) of Section twenty-five of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1938, have been complied with in relation to the film or in relation to any film of which the film forms part;
    the duty chargeable on the film shall be the duty, if any, with which it would have been chargeable if it were still unexposed;
  3. (g) the exemption of sound track negatives from duties of Customs conferred by the Import Duties (Exemptions) (No. 4) Order, 1938, shall cease to have effect;
  4. (h) no drawback of duty paid at the rate of 6d. per linear foot on any piece of exposed cinematograph film shall be allowed under the Second Schedule to the Import Duties Act, 1932, if a duplicate thereof, or of any part thereof, has been imported into the United Kingdom, but the Commissioners may waive or modify this provision in any particular case. subject to such conditions as they may consider necessary in order to safeguard the revenue;
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  5. (i) the provisions of this Resolution, other than those of paragraph (b), may be revoked or varied in the same manner and to the same extent as if they were contained in an Order of the Treasury under the Import Duties Act, 1932.

For the purposes of this Resolution—

  1. (i) references to photographic film include references to cinematograph film and paper negative film;
  2. (ii) the area of any perforations in any piece of photographic film shall be treated as part of the area of the film;
  3. (iii) all sheets or strips of unexposed sensitised photographic film which are of a length not less than twelve feet shall, whatever their width, be treated as cinematograph film;
  4. (iv) references to exposed cinematograph film shall include references to all such film whether it is positive or negative, whether it is developed or undeveloped and whether or not it contains or consists of sound track;
  5. (v) 'the Commissioners' means the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;
  6. (vi) two lengths of film |shall not be deemed not to be duplicates of each other by reason that one is positive and the other is negative, or, where both lengths represent the same objects and are intended for use in the production of a coloured picture, by reason of any differences ascribable to the nature of the processes involved in producing such a picture.

And it is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1913."