Directory_and_Chronicle_1904 — Page 511

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HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE

CUSTOMS DECLARATION AND DESPATCH Note.

202.--Parcels are subject to Customs regulations, and the sender of each parcel is required to make for Customs purposes-upon a special form or forms, which can be obtained at any Post Office-an accurate statement of the nature and value of the contents and other particulars. Undervaluing the contents or failure to describe them fully may result in seizure of the parcels. The net weight or quantity of the various articles contained in a parcel should, if possible, be stated, and any other particulars which would facilitate the assessment of Customs duty; such as, in the case of clothing, the material of which it is composed, and whether it is new or has been worn. In the case of articles returned to the country where they originated the fact should be stated. The forms for Foreign parcels should, when possible, be filled up in both English and French.

CUSTOMS DUTY AND CHARGES ON DELIVERY.

203.-All parcels are liable to be opened for Customs examination, and their con- tents are subject to Customs duty according to the laws of the country or colony of destination. Such duty cannot be prepaid, but is collected from the addressee on delivery, except in the case of parcels sent under the arrangements explained in rule 206. In most Foreign countries and British colonies the articles which

which are not subject to Customs duty on importation are comparatively few. The Post Office can give no information as to the Customs tariff or procedure of particular countries, nor does it accept any responsibility for loss, delay or charges arising from the Customs or sanitary regulations to which the contents of parcels are subject.

204.-In addition to Customs duty, a charge of 6d. per parcel for stamp duty, clearance, &c., is levied on all dutiable parcels entering Cape Colony and Natal. This charge is increased to 1s. 6d. in the case of parcels for Rhodesia and Orange River Colony. In most European countries and some others a fee not exceeding 24d. per parcel is leviable for delivery and Customs formalities. In Honduras and Sel- vador the fee is 1 centavo for each 4 oz., with a minimum of 5 centavos. As to the charge on parcels for the Congo Free State, see footnote in Table of Postage.

205.-The following rules apply to the exchange of Parcel Post with the United States but will be modified when the Parcel Post Convention with the U.S.A. comes into force (January 1st, 1904) :

(a.) The charges payable on parcels for the United States are partly postal and

partly non-postal.

(.) The Non-Postal Charges are as follows:-

1. 60 cents on every parcel, due to the American Express Co. for Customs

clearance and formalities, and

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2. 60 cents in respect of the charges levied by the United States Govern- ment under the title of "Sample Office Fee" or "Storage Fee on every parcel entering the Country.

MODE OF PREPAYMENT.

(c.) The postal charges must be prepaid by means of stamps affixed to the cove

of the parcel. It is open to the sender-

1. To prepay in the same way the non-postal charges other than Customs

duties.

2 While prepaying the charges specified under heading I., to assume respon- sibility for the Customs charges, so that the parcel may be delivered free of cost to the recipient. In this case it will be necessary to proceed in the manner described in Rule 206. This arrangement ensures a speedier conveyance, since ordinary parcels will remain at the New York Custom House until the addressees have remitted thither the amount of duty and other charges upon them.

The charges not prepaid by the sender will be collected from the addressee.

PARCELS FORWARDED IN Bond.

(d.) The sender may, without extra charge, direct that a parcel be sent through the New York Custom House in bond, for Customs Examination at any of the "United States Ports of Entry," or Inland Custom Houses, of which a list is appended. This arrangement also does away with the delay at New York referred to in the preceding paragraph, but, on the other hand, the addressees will have to make arrangements for the delivery of parcels so treated after they have been cleared at the Custom House of the Inland Port of Entry