5
PUBLIC RECORD
OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
6
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ription foods.
Appendices H. to K
8
in which are corrected at a later date, when the quantities of the goods to which it relates have been ascertained with precision, and the prime entry, which relates to dutiable goods on which the merchant mtends to pay duty immediately upon their being be landed. As regards all dutiable goods may stated without hesitation that the examination for revenue purposes secures absolute accuracy in the statistics of the quantities imported. The values are checked in the same way as the values of free goods are checked, a process to be hereafter described.
"
In order to preserve what may be called statistical uniformity in the descriptions given by merchants of their importations, all goods, free as well as dutiable, must be entered in accordance with the descriptions contained in what is known as the Official Import List, which lays down the particular denominations under which every kind of article should be described in the entries. It is obvious that without some such guide the statistics would be entirely useless for purposes of comparison. Thus one merchant might enter as drugs" an article like gallic acid, which another might enter as dye stuffs ; or one might fairly enter phosphate of lime as "chemicals," while another might classify it amongst "manures." The import list sets the, im- porters' doubts on such points at rest, and enables the statistical office in communication with the officers who actually handle the goods to secure uniform descriptions of a like nature under appropriate head- ings. Alterations in this list are made from time to time by the proper authorities, and the obrvance of such alterations is binding upon merchants, ho are liable to penalties for any wilful or negligenty careless misdescriptions of their goods.
JE
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For purposes of comparison the most important factor in the entries from a statistical point of view is the value stated therein, and numerous checks are applied to ensure correctness in this respect. The value which should be given in the entry for ordinary imported goods is the value at the port of entry, with all charges up to the moment of landing on the quay In other words, this may be described as the c.i. f." value (cost, freight, and insurance). The officers who are present at the landing of the goods and who check the quantities would, in the case of any glaring under-valuation or over-valuation, question the entry. But the principal check is after- wards applied in the central statistical office (to which a copy
of the entry is sent), where the officials possess a knowledge of current values and where market reports and lists of "prices current"
are
readily available to detect any departures from sub- stantial accuracy in this respect. The chief difficulty encountered is the habitual carelessness of merchants" clerks, who will, where they think they can escape detection, insert fictitious .values to save themselves trouble. The entry is in the form of a declaration, but the production of invoices is not demanded unless the officials have reason to doubt the particulars given, though whenever the value stated differs in any appreciable degree from the known average value of articles, invoices are always required. The full legal penalty for incorrect descriptions is 201. and the for-
{
9.
feiture of the goods in each case, but in practice it is found that fines of 5s. or 10s are effectual for the purpose. Higher fines are, however, imposed when necessary. These fines are usually inflicted by the simple fiat of the Board of Customs without pro- cedure before a magistrate; and the Board's decision is almost invariably accepted by the offenders in the light of a waiver of proceedings for the full penalty, and the smail fine paid without demur.
There is one large class of goods which presents Goods con- considerable difficulty to the officials in their efforts signed for
to ascertain the correct value in this country for sale. statistical purposes, viz., goods which have been consigned to the English market for sale, such goods not being usually invoiced to the importers here at a specific price. As to these goods, it is clearly not practicable to give the "c. i. f.".value; therefore the market value in this country is the value which is sought to be known and to be included in the returns, That value is ascertained from the declaration made by the importers, and is checked by the expert know- ledge available in the Statistical Office, and by the price lists and market reports of the day.
As regards the classification of imports under Classification countries, the principle which underlies the whole under coun-
tries whence system of British trade statistics is that the returns shall show the trade between the United Kingdom
imported. and the various countries from which the goods are shipped, in contradistinction to any attempt to trace the countries of origin or production. However desirable it may be that the countries of origin of goods should be known, the conditions of modern trade, with all the complications of rapid transit and transhipment, render it impracticable to trace mer- chandise back to the country in which it may have been actually produced, and any attempt to do so would certainly result in confusion.
There is a fundamental difference between the Exports, conditions which exist for obtaining statistics of imports and those under which an account can be obtained of exports. Imports are, even in the United Kingdom, liable to some extent to Customs duty; and in the course of examining goods with the object of protecting the revenue, the quantities, descriptions, and even the values will necessarily fall under the cognisance of the revenue officer. The revenue has a lien upon all imported goods until proved to be non-dutiable or until the duty be paid, and thus they are not released until at any rate the primary requirements as to statistics, have been satisfied. But with exports the case is far otherwise. The shipper may have his place of business at a distance from the port at which the merchandise is put on board the exporting ship. His agent is probably the shipowner, who, of course, knows no more about the values of the articles his ship is to carry than the exporter may choose to tell him, and it thus often happens that at the time of the sailing of the ship the agent who has to pr the goods on board has not been advised as to their nature or value. By law the exporter or his agent is bound within six days after the ck a of the ship to lodge with the Customs (fo. ransmission to the Statistical Office) a document known
'specification,” in which is set
C
L66016.
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