§ Lord Simon of Glaisdaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what date Her Majesty's Customs and Excise ceased to report what extra-statutory concessions they operate.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Arts (The Earl of Gowrie)Her Majesty's Customs and Excise continue to provide the Comptroller and Auditor General with a list of the extra-statutory concessions which they operate so that he may bring any matters of concern to the attention of Parliament.
The noble and learned Lord's interest may well arise from my Answer to a Question in this House on 3rd December about the value of sales made from duty-free shops. I should make it clear that such shops are approved as warehouses under the Customs and Excise Management Act I 979 and the only extra-statutory concession in force concerns a minor technical point relating to relief from value added tax. The total value of goods exported through duty-free shops is not required for revenue control purposes and statistics are therefore not collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.