40
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
amounting to $12.43 million had been approved. A further sum of $2.2 million being unclaimed prize money as at March 31, 1968 is held in deposit. Details of Public Debt and Colonial Development and Welfare schemes and grants are shown in Appendices X and XI.
The audit of all public accounts and certain special funds is carried out by the Director of Audit under the general supervision of the Director General of the Overseas Audit Service. Annual reports on the accounts by the Director of Audit and the Director General are presented to the Legislature and transmitted to the Secretary of State.
三
EXCISE DUTIES
There is no general tariff and only five groups of imported com- modities-alcoholic liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oils, table waters and methyl alcohol-are subject to import duty. Excise duties are levied on the same products manufactured locally. All firms engaged in the import, export, manufacture, or sale of dutiable commodities must be licensed.
The rates of duty are, in general, low. A preferential rate of duty for liquor of Commonwealth origin is at present levied at between 66 per cent and 89 per cent of the rate for non-Commonwealth liquor; Hong Kong produced beer enjoys a further preferential margin over Commonwealth beer. Duty on all types of liquor ranges from $1.60 per gallon, on Hong Kong brewed beer, to $73 a gallon for liquors and spirits of non-Commonwealth origin.
The scale of duties on imported tobacco ranges from $2.50 a pound for Chinese prepared tobacco to $11.25 a pound on non- Commonwealth cigars. Preferential rates are granted for unmanufac- tured tobacco of Malawi origin and to cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco of Commonwealth manufacture.
The duties on motor spirits and other light or heavy oils now stand at $1.80 and 10 cents a gallon respectively. The duty on lique- fied petroleum gas is two cents a pound. The general rate of duty on diesel oils for road vehicles is $1.30 per gallon, although public omnibus operators and marine and industrial users pay reduced rates. The rates of duty on table waters and methyl alcohol are 48 cents and $7.50 a gallon respectively.