HC Deb 29 May 1951 vol 488 c4W
63. Mr. Marples

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what rules are imposed by His Majesty's Customs on the sale of cigarettes in aircraft when the aircraft is outside British territory; under what authority are these instructions issued and enforced; whether all air routes receive the same allocation per head; and on what principles His Majesty's Customs decided that no British subject or foreign visitor can buy more than 20 cigarettes on some of the British European Airways Corporation planes when they are outside the three mile limit.

Mr. Jay

The quantity of duty-free cigarettes which may be shipped as stores in an aircraft going abroad must by law be strictly limited according to the number of persons on board and the probable length of the particular flight. Issues are made in bulk to each aircraft and the distribution of supplies among passengers is the responsibility of the aircraft operator. The replies to the hon. Member's specific queries therefore are: there are no such rules; hence no question of authority arises; the allocation per head varies according to the length of the particular flight; and that no such decision has been made.

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