30 July 1993
BY FAX
Ms R J Hammerton
HM Customs and Excise
Customs Directorate Division 1B
New Kingsbeam House
22 Upper Ground
London
SE1 9PJ
Dear Ms Hammerton
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SW1A 2AH
Telephone: 071- 270-2653
370/9
RECEN
STRY
301 1993
OSTRY
en Tel
CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT WITH HONG KONG
1. Thank you for inviting the Department's comments on the second draft of the Customs Arrangement with Hong Kong.
2.
Our Legal Counsellor has commented that as this inter- departmental arrangement is intended to be a non-binding document, it should be consistent throughout and avoid binding language. Accordingly, she has made the following suggestions:
3.
a) at the end of the preamble, the word "agreed" is replaced by "decided";
b) in paragraph 8 the word "should" ought to be replaced by "will" (better than would in this context);
c) in paragraph 13, the words "they must at all times be able" should be replaced by "they are required at all times to be able";
d) in paragraph 18 (2) "must" should be changed to "will";
e) in paragraph 20(2) "agreed" should be replaced by "decided".
The arrangement refers throughout to "territory". Our Legal Counsellor has pointed out that the word "territory" is not one favoured by the Chinese in the Hong Kong context and therefore she has suggested that the references to "territory" become "customs territory" and that paragraph 21 (1) is deleted. Alternatively, instead of the word "territory" the word "area" could be used. This is drawn
1
PA.
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