§ Mr. John TownendTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the travellers' allowance which at present applies to goods obtained outside the European Community.
§ Mr. RyderThe allowances for goods obtained outside the EC derive from EC legislation. They include both quantitative limits on alcohol and tobacco, and a £32 value allowance for other items. The £32 value allowance has the limited purpose of waiving duty and tax on small purchases of a personal or souvenir nature. The Government have long supported Commission proposals to increase this very low allowance, but some member states have blocked any rise for fear of the increased revenue loss from cross-border shopping or through opposition to the availability of duty-free sales for intra-EC traffic, to which the same level of allowances applies.
The Government remain committed to a substantial increase in this allowance.