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The
increase for the French Customs and this instability has in the past made business particularly difficult. Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce writing in July 1982 gave instances in which the duty charged on a certain class of goods rose within 17 days from 5% to 434% ad valorem. In another case the do-efficient was raised at once from 1.5 to 6. In a third case in which the French authorities insisted on the payment of tramit duty on a consignment of goods returned from Yunnanfu, the inwards duty had been 20.76% but the return duty was no less than 113.248.
III.
Apart from the duty they have to pay British traders complain of vaxatious restrictions, harsh treatment on the part of Customs officials and of delay and damage to goods in transit.
Under the first head fall particular regulations such as those which require that foreign wines and certain preserved foreign goods may not be entered for transit without bearing an indisation of the Country of origin 'par estampage en relief ou en oraux, en caracteres latins 'bien apparents d'au moins 4 m,m., au milieu du fond et 'sur une partie ne portant aucune impression'. There is further an absolute prohibition of transit of preserved foreign fish in boxes of over 1 kg,, the reason for which it seems impossible to divine.
Allegations of harsh treatment in Custome administration are to the effect that Consular certificates of origin are sometimes ignored without apparent reason and that goods are detained on occasion for long periods.
Particulars of actual cases of serious delay and less pasasioned by a failure to accord reasonable and proper
/facilition
B
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