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Annex 4.
:
CONSIDERATION OF THE POSITION OF BONDED WAREHOUSES IN REIT
TO THE TRAFFIC IN OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS.
NOTE BY SIR MALCOLM DELEVINGNE, BRITISH REPRESENTATIVE
It was mentioned at the last Session of the Committee that the Netherlands Ga has asked whether the question of free ports included the question of bonded warehouses, was decided to examine the position as regards bonded warehouses at our next meeting point which is of interest to the Committee is whether imports of dangerous drugs w stored on arrival in bonded warehouses under the control of the Customs Authorities and re-exported from bond are subject to the same control as ordinary imports into, or exports! a country under the provisions of the Opium Convention and the system of import recommended by the League of Nations. It would seem desirable that the practice of th ferent countries in regard to this matter should be ascertained. It is understood that in: countries re-export from bond is regarded merely as transshipment, and no control over export such as is provided for by the Convention and the import certificate system in t!. of ordinary exports is exercised. In other cases it is understood that the authorities p an export licence to be obtained before re-export out of bond can take place, but such do not figure in the Customs returns. It will be evident that if country A gives a licence i export of drugs to country B on the production of an import certificate from the Go of country B, and on arrival at country B the drugs are stored in bond and can be re-exped bond to country C without any licence from the Government of country B or the pi of an import certificate from the Government of country C, the persons engaged in their international traffic in the drugs will be able easily to evade the control which the I attempting to establish in accordance with the Convention. I suggest as a matter for the
ation of the Committee whether a questionnaire should be issued to the Governments what their practice is in regard to re-export from bond of dangerous drugs which have been signed to the country, and whether they would see any difficulty in requiring an export to be obtained and an import certificate to be produced before the re-export from 1- permitted.
It will be understood that the foregoing does not apply to consignments on through: of lading from country A to country C which are landed in country B and stored t in bond pending transshipment. In such cases an import certificate from the Gov of country C should be produced to the Government of country A before the latter Go issues its licence for the export of the consignment.
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