§ 23. Mr. Danceasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will grant compensation to those Service men in Cyprus whose unexpected transfer to this country results in their either having to pay Customs duty on motor cars bought less than 12 months previously or to dispose of them locally in Cyprus in a market affected by the situation there.
§ Mr. KirkAs regards Customs duty, I would refer to the Answer given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 24th March. In the light of that reply it would be wrong to pay a Service man compensation because he had had to pay duty which had been properly assessed. It would be unusual to pay compensation to Service men for losses incurred on the sale of cars in a depressed market for secondhand cars, but exceptional cases might be considered on their merits.