§ Mr. Bestasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, further to his answer of 1 May, Official Report, columns 476–7, he will publish in the Official Report the information he has as to which concessions exist in freeports in other European Economic Community countries which are not available in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BrookeAll the customs duty reliefs which are available in freeports in other European Economic Community countries, operating under the EC free zone directive, are also available in the United Kingdom. I am not aware of the concessions made with regard to other duties and taxes except that in the freeport of Hamburg domestic VAT is not charged on supplies made within the zone and excise goods may be stored without payment of duty.
A number of areas popularly known in other member states as freeports do not operate under the free zone directive but are, in fact, warehousing systems. Rotterdam, Le Havre, and Shannon are examples. These offer facilities similar to those available in customs and excise warehouses in the United Kingdom.