§ Dr. Stuttafordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if the same criteria are used to judge the merits of an application for Her Majesty's Customs to issue a United Kingdom licence to manufacture cigarettes as that used to grant a licence to import cigarettes;
(2) how many licences to import cigarettes containing tobacco substitute material from Southern Ireland he has granted in the past six months; and if he will make a statement on the considerations undertaken before he grants such an application.
§ Mr. HigginsAs regards cigarettes made wholly of tobacco, a licence to manufacture in the United Kingdom is required under provisions of the Customs and Excise Act 1952, which relate to revenue enforcement; no licence is re-required for the importation of such cigarettes. In considering applications made under the Tobacco Substitutes Regulations 1970—under the Finance Act 1970—to manufacture or import cigarettes containing tobacco substitute material Customs are again concerned with revenue enforcement. One application to import such cigarettes from the Republic of Ireland has been approved during the past six months.
§ Dr. Stuttafordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is a loss of taxation revenue if a British firm manufactures cigarettes in Southern Ireland rather than carrying out the entire process in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HigginsThe tobacco duty pay-able on cigarettes imported from the Republic of Ireland is no lower than that paid on comparable cigarettes manufactured in the United Kingdom.