6. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what is the machinery for ensuring a reciprocity in privileges for British High Commissioners and their staffs working in Commonwealth countries and Commonwealth High Commissioners and their staffs working in Great Britain; and whether he will now arrange for reciprocity to be extended in the matter of allowing such persons to obtain domestically produced spirits free of Excise duty, having regard to the fact that five Commonwealth countries already grant such privilege.
§ Mr. SandysPrivileges are granted on a basis of general reciprocity in accordance with international law or practice and not of strict reciprocity item by item for each privilege. The question of exempting persons from Excise duty in this country is one for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on the 12th February.