§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneI beg to move amendment No. 18, in page 15, leave out lines 21 to 38.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe purpose of the amendment is to give effect to an undertaking that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, South (Sir W. Clark) in Committee.
The Bill as originally drafted contained provisions emanating from a Rayner scrutiny by which Customs and Excise would have been given the power under certain circumstances, with which I shall not weary the House at this hour, to refuse registration to traders with relatively small turnovers, who were seeking registration. We have had representations from a number of sources, particularly from my hon. Friend, to the effect that it was more satisfactory to revert to a position whereby the Customs and Excise had discretion as to when registration below the registration threshold should be granted or withheld, although the trader would always have the right of appeal in the normal way.
On balance, it seemed that that was a more sensible way of proceeding. I undertook, therefore, to amend the Bill accordingly.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Amendment made: No. 19, in page 16, leave out lines 9 and 10.—Mr. David Hunt.]