§ Major Lyonsasked the Postmaster-General if he can give the number of parcels which have arrived in this country from members of the Forces serving overseas and which have not been accepted on account of the inability of the recipients to pay the customs dues demanded, to the nearest convenient date; and if he will consider whether, in future, all such cases could be reported to the appropriate branch of the W.V.S. or some other such organisation for investigation before the parcels are returned.
Mr. GrimstonThe information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available and the answer to the second part of the Question is in the negative, but my hon. and gallant Friend may not be aware of the concession to the Forces serving abroad introduced in the early part of 1943. The Chancellor authorised in the early part of 1943 an arrangement whereby men of H.M. Forces serving overseas may send to the United Kingdom, free of duty, not more than four gift parcels 383W a year. Such parcels may not weigh more than 5 lb. gross or exceed 30s. in value and are subject to certain restrictions as to contents, for example, they may not contain more than 2 lb. of any one foodstuff. In order to obtain the benefit of the concession, a special label, obtained through the sender's unit, must be completed and affixed to the parcel by the sender. All Commands abroad have been notified of the concession.