Enclosure No. 2.
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Page
No. 585.
Hong Kong.
Regulation made by the Governor in Council under section 3 (1) (b) of the Tobacco Ordinance, 1916, Ordinance No. 10 of 1916, on the 17th day of September, 1931.
The scale referred to in Regulation 1 of the Drawback Regulations of the 13th February, 1929, which scale has from time to time been amended or revised as appears by Government Notification No. 272, of 1931, now is and shall be :-
(a) On Cigars at the rate of.
(b) On Cigarettes at the rate of
-
per lb.
91 cents.
71 cents.
(i) without the addition of oil at the rate of
81 cents.
(ii) with the addition of not more than 17% of oil at the
rate of
73 cents.
(e) On Tobacco manufactured in Chinese fashion..
Such
(d) On other manufactured tobacco at a rate based upon the duty
originally paid on the tobacco used in the manufacture. rate to be fixed by the Superintendent in each case.
COUNCIL CHAMBER,
17th September, 1931.
N. L. SMITH,
Clerk of Councils.
(Extract from the Hong Kong Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 42 of the 17th September, 1931.)
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Enclosure No. 3.
TOBACCO DUTIES.
THE COLONIAL TREASURER moved the following resolution:-
Resolved that the duties on tobacco set forth in the resolution passed by this Council on the 26th February 1931, and published in the Government Gazette of the 27th February, 1931, by Government notification No. 122 be varied and subject to the provisions of sub- section (3) of section 6 of the Tobacco Ordinance, 1916 (Ordinance No. 10 of 1916), as amended by section 7 of the Tobacco Amendment Ordinance, 1929, (Ordinance No. 3 of 1929) the duty payable:
1. upon all tobacco imported into the Colony after the coming into operation of this resolution, and
2. upon all dutiable tobacco already in the Colony at the coming into operation of this resolution shall be as stated in the following table per pound weight: Provided that the dollars and decimals thereof stated in the table shall be conventional dollars reckoned as the equivalent of one shilling and eight pence sterling; and that consequently to arrive at the actual amount payable in Hong Kong currency the conventional dollar stated in the Table shall be multiplied by 20 and divided by a figure settled by the Colonial Treasurer from time to time representing the average opening selling rates for the previous month of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for demand drafts on London and until so settled the figure shall be 12.25.
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TABLE.
A. On unmanufactured tobacco:
(1)
If unstripped:
(a) containing 10 pounds or more of moisture per 100 pounds
weight thereof, $0.70.
(b) containing less than 10 pounds of moisture per 100 pounds
weight thereof, $0.79.
(2) If stripped:
(a) containg 10 pounds or more of moisture per 100 pounds
weight thereof, $0.84.
(b) containing less than 10 pounds of moisture per 100 pounds
weight thereof, $0.93.
B.-On manufactured tobacco:
(1) Cigars,
$2.00.
(2) Cigarettes,
$0.90.
(3) Other manufactured tobacco including snuff and cigar
cuttings, $0.90.
He said:-The reasons for the increase were explained by the Hon. Colonial Secretary when moving the first reading of the Appro- priation Bill on the 1st of this month. The duties came into force on the 17th September by order made by His Excellency the Governor- in-Council.
It will be remembered that in February last liquor and tobacco duties were placed on a sterling basis, but that the actual figures in the table were reduced to the figures in force prior to June, 1930, when in that month they were raised.
To take an example, unstripped tobacco class 1 (a) prior to June, 1930, was assessed at .75 per lb. In February it was reduced to .50 per lb. on the sterling basis. It has now been raised to .70 on a sterling basis. The actual duty payable per lb. reckoned by the conventional dollar before the present order was made was at the rate of .87 per lb.
The duty to-day is $1.14, an increase of approximately 30 per cent and this is the approximate increase throughout the table.
At the time the estimate was made it was reckoned that the increase in revenue would amount to $1,800,000 in a full year with a 1/- dollar, but with a 1/2d dollar this would be reduced by $845,000 to $955,000. It will be seen, therefore, that placing duties on a sterling basis acts also against the revenue.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the resolution was agreed to.
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