Clause 6.—(POWER TO EXEMPT PARTICULAR IMPORTATIONS OF CERTAIN GOODS.) (Hansard, 29 January 1958)

§ The Minister of State, Board of Trade (Mr. J. K. Vaughan-Morgan)
I beg to move, in page 7, line 7, after "if", to insert: The Treasury on the recommendation of". Would it be in order, Mr. Speaker, to take together with this Amendment the following one, in page 7, line 14, to leave out from the beginning to "any" in line 16?

§ Mr. Speaker
Yes, that will be in order.

§ Mr. Vaughan-Morgan
These two Amendments are designed to correct an error in the drafting of Clause 6. The intention of the Clause was to give the Treasury a discretionary power to issue duty-free directions, to specify the circumstances in which it might exercise the power and to see that it was not exercised except on a recommendation of the Board of Trade. As drafted, it provides that the Treasury may exercise the power if the Board of Trade is satisfied that it is justified in the circumstances. This is hardly logical, as it is the Treasury which has to exercise the power and which has to be satisfied that the necessary circumstances for the exercise of that power have arisen.
There is no change of policy as regards the functions of the Treasury or of the Board of Trade, and it is intended that the whole procedure should be as now. The Amendment therefore provides that the Treasury is to be satisfied only on the recommendation of the Board of Trade. The Amendment to subsection (2) is consequential on the Amendment to subsection (1). The words are no longer necessary.