THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 8TH JANUARY,
HONC
ARTICLE X.
1876.
15
If British merchants or their agents in the Regency of Tunis should purchase any article of Tunisian produce or manufacture for internal consumption, the said merchants or their agents shall not pay, on the purchase and sale of such articles, any higher duties or charges than are paid, under similar circumstances, by the most favoured class of Tunisians or foreigners engaged in the internal trade of the Regency of Tunis. In like manner Tunisian merchants or their agents in the British dominions shall not pay on the purchase and sale of British produce or manufactures, for internal consumption in the said dominions, higher duties or charges than are paid by British subjects or the most favoured foreigners engaged in the internal trade of the said dominions, upon similar articles of produce or manufacture.
ARTICLE XI.
If a British merchant or his agent shall purchase for exportation any article of Tunisian produce or manufacture, either at the place where such article is produced or in its transit from that place to another, upon which article of produce or manufacture the internal taxes known by the names of "Ushr," "Kanoon," and "Mahsoulat," and others, have been already levied, such article of produce or manufacture shall be subject at the port of shipment to the payment of the export duty only, and the notarial fees and charges for measurement established by law.
ARTICLE XII.
In case of any dispute arising between the Custom-house and a merchant regarding the value to be put upon any merchandize or goods imported by him into the Regency to Tunis, the merchant shall be free to pay the duty in kind, in the most equitable manner.
Should, however, the merchant be unable or unwilling to make use of the above faculty, the Custom-house shall have the right to purchase such merchandize or goods at the price at which the merchant has valued them, with an augmentation of 5 per cent.
But should the foregoing two modes fail to solve the difficulty, His Highness the Bey and Her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General shall each name an arbitrator, being a merchant, and, in case of a divergence of opinion, the two arbitrators shall name an umpire, also a merchant, whose decision
shall be final.
ARTICLE XIII.
With a view to the encouragement of agriculture, His Highness the Bey furthermore engages to permit the importation, free of import duty and of every other internal charge, of agricultural implements and machinery, as well as of cattle and animals for the improvement of the native breeds, whenever such agricultural implements, machinery, cattle, and animals are proved to be for privaté use and not for purposes of trade, in which latter case they shall be subject to the payment of an import duty not exceeding 8 per cent.
ARTICLE XIV.
In case the importation of foreign wheat, barley, and Indian corn should be rendered necessary in consequence of the failure of the crops, in consequence of famine or other causes, which God forbid, such foreign wheat, barley, and Indian corn shall be as heretofore exempt from the payment of any import duty, and shall be subject only to the payment of 20 karoobs (74d.) per kaffis.
With the exception of the above three articles, all other foreign provisions, such as rice, lentils, beans, and other pulse known by the appellation of "Hashahesh" (dried vegetables) shall pay an import duty not exceeding eight per cent., but the importer or his agent shall be free to sell such provisions in retail or in any other manner without the payment of any other charge whatsoever.
ARTICLE XV.
It is understood between the Contracting Parties that the Tunisian Government reserves to itself the faculty and right of issuing a general prohibition against the importation into the Regency of gunpowder, unless Her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General shall think fit to apply for a special license, which license shall, in that case, be granted, provided no valid objection thereto can be alleged. Gunpowder, when allowed to be imported, shall be subject to a duty not exceeding eight per cent., and shall be liable to the following regulations:-
1. It shall not be sold by subjects of Her Britannic Majesty in quantities exceeding the quantities prescribed by the local regulations.
2. When a cargo, or a large quantity of gunpowder arrives in a Tunisian port on board a British vessel, such vessel shall be anchored at a particular spot, to be designated by the local authorities, and the gunpowder shall then be conveyed, under the inspection of such authorities, to depôts or fitting places, designated by the Government, to which the parties interested shall have access under due regulations.
Gunpowder imported in contravention of the prohibition, or in the absence of the license afore- mentioned, shall be liable to confiscation, save and except small quantities of gunpowder for sporting reserved for private use, which shall not be subject to the regulations of the present Article.
Cannon, arms of war, or military stores, as well as anchors, masts, and chain cables, shall be imported free of duty, provided they are landed at the opened and recognized ports; provided, also, that previous to the landing of cannon the permission of the Government is obtained."