§ Lieut.-Commander Joynson-Hicksasked the President of the Board of Trade under what authority food parcels from Australia in excess of one each month received by individuals in this country are appropriated from the owner 303W ship of the addressee; whether compensation is paid and, if so, by whom, to whom and upon what basis; how such parcels are redistributed; and whether he will, in view of the irregularity of the postal service, permit individuals to receive in this country 12 of such parcels in any one year.
§ Sir S. CrippsUnder the Import of Goods (Control) Orders made under the Import, Export and Customs (Defence) Act, 1939, all goods imported from abroad require import licences, and goods imported in contravention of such Orders are, by the provisions of the Act, liable to forfeiture and seizure by His Majesty's Customs. As a concession, unsolicited gifts complying with certain limitations which are well-known abroad are allowed by the Board of Trade to be imported without the necessity for an import licence. Parcels which infringe these limitations are seized by His Majesty's Customs and are released only on production of an import licence. If this licence is not produced, the parcels are disposed of to approved charitable organisations, no compensation being payable to the addressee. A written notification is always given to the addressee in a case of seizure of a parcel. The proportion of parcels arriving from Australia which are seized in this way is negligible. It is recognised that owing to the shipping situation, there may be some irregularity in the despatch and arrival of the mails from Australia, and, provided that the parcels are posted not more often than once a month, they would be regarded as fulfilling the condition relating to frequency, which requires that they must not be sent more often than once a month.