Postal_Guide_January_1953 — Page 24

the relative parcel mail will be closed at 5.00 p.m. on the preceding day, unless that day be a Sunday, in which case it will then close at 5.00 p.m. on the Saturday before.

Parcels for abroad cannot be accepted for registration, but they may be insured in some cases, see page 48.

A certificate of posting is given for each parcel but this certificate does not confer any title to claim on the Post Office in case of loss or damage of the parcel. Compensation, however, is paid in certain cases of loss or damage, full details concerning which are given in page 48 under the heading Compensation.

CUSTOMS DECLARATION AND DESPATCH NOTE

Preparation of Customs declaration. All parcels for places abroad are liable to be opened for examination in the country of destination and the contents are subject to the customs, assay, trade mark and other legal requirements of the country of destination. The sender of a parcel is accordingly required to make an accurate declaration of the nature and value of the contents. Customs declaration forms for this purpose can be obtained before hand at any post office which accepts overseas parcels. The forms should be filled up in ink, and senders are recommended to avoid the use of abbreviations, ditto marks and so on which may not be intelligible in the country of destination. The impression of

The impression of a rubber stamp is not sufficient signature for such declarations and in the case of parcel sent by a firm if the declaration is not signed by a responsible member of the firm it must be signed thus A. B. clerk to

If the contents are not fully described or are undervalued, the parcel is liable to seizure and penalties may be incurred.

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Types of customs declaration forms. Two types of customs forms fare in use: namely:-

An adhesive form, to be affixed to the parcel (mainly for Common- wealth use);

A non-adhesive form (for most foreign countries). With the non- adhesive forms a despatch note as indicated below is required.

Two or more copies of the non-adhesive form may be required, see in the table commencing on page 58.

Details to be shown. The value of the contents of the parcel must be shown in Hong Kong currency on the customs declaration, and the net weight or quantity and the value of the different kinds of articles enclosed should be shown in detail with such other particulars as are likely to facilitate the customs clearance of the parcel, for instance, the material of which clothing is made, and whether it is new or not. If an article is being returned to its country of origin, this should be stated.

If a consular invoice, a certificate of origin, or other similar document accompanies a parcel, this should be stated on the relative customs declaration under the list of contents, and also on the cover of the parcel if the customs declaration is of the non-adhesive kind.

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