HC Deb 09 February 1961 vol 634 cc598-9
9. Commander Courtney

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the circumstances under which duty and Purchase Tax were levied by Her Majesty's Customs on Mr. R. E. Rushen and another British survivor of the Mexican Airlines crash on their arrival at London Airport on 25th January.

17. Mr. Lipton

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which two British survivors of an air crash in the United States of America were delayed by the customs authorities at London Airport on 25th January last.

33. Sir B. Janner

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that two British businessmen who survived the airline disaster at Idlewild Airport in New York on 19th January were charged a substantial sum of money in respect of duty and Purchase Tax in connection with the clothes which they had been obliged to purchase in New York to replace items in their luggage which had been destroyed; and whether it is proposed to issue special instructions to deal with cases of this kind in the future.

Mr. Barber

The articles declared to the Customs by these two gentlemen were well in excess of the tolerances normally allowed, and duty and Purchase Tax were properly charged. There is no exception for replacement articles as such, but charges were not, in fact, made on any clothing which had been worn or was being worn. Because of the substantial numbers of articles declared the Customs examination took about twenty minutes, but in the special circumstances of the case the wives and friends of the two passengers were allowed to join them in the Customs hall during that time. All possible consideration was shown by the Customs, and there is no need for further investigation or instructions.

Commander Courtney

Does my hon. Friend appreciate that many people consider that the attitude of the Customs officers in this case was certainly rather unimaginative? Will he ensure that, in future, exporters who go through these vicissitudes are not exposed to the same type of trouble?

Mr. Barber

I have made very careful inquiries about this. On the very day on which I saw Mr. Rushen's letter in The Times I called for a report. I am quite satisfied that these two passengers were treated courteously and as sympathetically as possible. Some of the statements in the letter to The Times certainly do not coincide with the information I have been given.

Mr. Lipton

While most people find the Customs officers at London Airport generally reasonable and considerate, was not this a rather exceptional case in which the strict letter of the law need not have been quite so rigorously enforced?

Mr. Barber

As I think I said, because of the special circumstances of the case, the articles that had been worn or that the passengers were wearing were subtracted from the totals to arrive at the chargeable amounts.