§ 53. Mr. Braineasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will exempt from Customs Duty and Purchase Tax the contents of gift parcels sent by men on active service in Korea and Malaya to their relatives in this country.
§ 70. Mr. Cooper-Keyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will restore the war-time Forces' duty free parcels concession to all serving personnel abroad, and especially to those serving in the Far Eastern zone.
§ Mr. GaitskellI would refer the hon. Members to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg) on 7th December last.
§ Mr. BraineIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that small gift parcels of a value not exceeding 20s. are attracting as much Purchase Tax and Customs Duty as 17s. or 18s.? In view of the fact that duty-free concessions were made in the last war, could not the same generosity be shown in respect of gifts of a limited value now?
§ Mr. GaitskellUnder present arrangements, gifts of a value under 10s. can, of course, be sent in duty-free. Any number of parcels can be sent to different people in the same mail, and to the same person on different days. I think the present arrangement is pretty reasonable.
§ Mr. BellengerDoes my right hon. Friend not realise that that does not quite meet the point? Would he consider sympathetically the introduction of the system which prevailed during the war whereby so many duty-free gift parcels were allowed to troops on active service? Is he aware that, on the whole, that met with the approval of the troops?
§ Mr. GaitskellI am, of course, familiar with the war-time system. It involves various administrative difficulties. I am not satisfied that present arrangements are giving rise to dissatisfaction.
§ Mr. Harmar NichollsIn view of the high cost of purchases today, would the Minister at least consider raising the concession from 10s. to 30s.?
§ Mr. GaitskellNo, Sir.
§ Mr. AwberyWill the Minister consider increasing the limit of 10s. to something substantially higher?
§ Mr. GaitskellNo, Sir.