CO129-515-3 Tobacco (Amendment) Ordinance- 1929 28-1-1929 - 11-3-1929 — Page 11

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provisions relating to the manufacture of tobacco in bond,

and (b) the insertion of additional provisions relating to

drawback and the making of drawback regulations.

3.

also

The present Ordinance adopts the system of having

uniform rates of duty for the various respective kinds of

manufactured tobacco, whether manufactured in the Colony or

imported in its manufactured state, i.e., (1) cigars, (2)

cigarettes, and (3) other manufactured tobacco. Formerly,

there were four grades of each class, according to value,

and the valuation was based in the first instance on the

invoice price. That system was open to objection, for the

following reasons:

4.

(a) It proved extremely difficult to assign to their

proper respective classes the very numerous brands

of cigars and cigarettes sold in Hong Kong.

(b) A particular kind of cigarette would sometimes

be sold at a loss, in order to kill competition

or to establish a new brand. The invoice price

in such a case ceased to be any guide to the

value.

(c) There were frequent alterations in quality of

cigarettes

the price.

as a guide.

without corresponding alterations in

Here again the invoice price failed

(a) The tobacco revenue in Hong Kong is collected

chiefly on cigarettes, and the trade manoeuvres

referred to above made it difficult to estimate

the revenue.

The opportunity was taken to make some other amendments

in the principal Crdinance on minor points.

5.

Section 2 was inserted ex abundanti cautela, though it

is believed that all dutiable tobacco in the Colony at the