§ Sir P. Hurdasked the President of the Board of Trade what are the regulations affecting the shipment from Canada and the United States of America of unsolicited gifts to British friends; whether he 1423W is aware that these parcels are frequently shipped and then seized on arrival in this country; and whether, in order to save shipping space, irritation and loss, arrangements can be made in the countries of origin for the refusal of acceptance of these parcels for shipment?
§ Colonel LlewellinI will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a summary of the regulations to which my hon. Friend refers. Only an extremely small proportion of gift importations contravene these regulations and are detained. I am afraid that it would not be practicable to adopt the suggestion in the last part of my hon. Friend's Question, but I am satisfied that adequate publicity is now being given to these regulations in the countries from which gifts are sent.
Following is the summary:
Gifts sent to this country from abroad are, as a concession, allowed entry, with-Out import licence, on condition that they are bona fide unsolicited gifts sent by parcel post and provided that no parcel exceeds 5 lbs. gross weight or, if it includes food, contains more than 2 lbs. of any one foodstuff. All parcels must be clearly marked as gifts.
Where well-wishers abroad desire to send larger quantities of goods (which must not include rationed foods) they must first arrange for some responsible organisation in this country formed for charitable or similar purposes to be the recipient. Application for a licence must then be made by the organisation which will be asked to give an undertaking that the goods will be distributed in accordance with the purpose for which the organisation was formed, and the organisation will be responsible for the collection of clothing coupons on the distribution of any goods subject to the Consumer Rationing Order, 1941.
The receipt of gifts at frequent intervals cannot be permitted, and gifts cannot be regarded as "unsolicited" where they are the result of communications sent by the recipients.