asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the statutory authority for making a charge to importers for the cost of out-of-hours attendance by the Customs and Excise at ports of entry.

The Commissioners of Customs and Excise have powers under Section 3 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 to prescribe the days and the hours when offices of Customs and Excise are open or officers are to be available for the performance of particular duties. Where traders wish to have the attendance of officers outside these prescribed days or hours, they enter into a contract with the commissioners for such attendance and it is one of the conditions of the contract that charges shall be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the basis of the calculation of the cost of out-of-hours attendance by the Customs and Excise at ports of entry; and how it is allocated between individual importers.

Charges for out-of-hours attendances by Custom and Excise staff are set at a level designed to recover the full costs of supplying the service and are calculated by reference to the average remuneration of the grades concerned including overtime, etc., with an appropriate addition for general expenses.Charges for additional attendances requested by individual importers or by agents acting on behalf of shipping companies, wharfingers, importers or exporters are calculated as indicated in Customs and Excise Notice No. 112. Where appropriate, the agent apportions the charge paid by him between the individual importers, etc., concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the reasons for charges in the criteria laid down for special attendance in Notice 112 of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise issued in January 1977 by comparison with earlier notices.

Extending the hours of free attendance by Customs and Excise staff wherever there is a recurring and continuous need for it would raise the level of public expenditure, and this cannot be justified in present economic circumstances: so the reference to the normal pattern of trade has been omitted from paragraph 1 of the notice as it is not the sole criterion. The reasons for grouping the rates of charges into two bands—set out in Appendix II to the notice—are explained in a revised paragraph 7. There is no other alteration of substance not issued as an amendment slip to the previous print.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the charge to importers for the cost of out-of-hours attendance by the Customs and Excise at ports of entry is in conformity with EEC regulations (a) as regards goods from other countries of the EEC and (b) as regards goods from countries not of the EEC.

There are no EEC regulations relating to charges for out-of-hours attendance by Customs and Excise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the recent increase in the charge to importers for out-of-hours attendance by the Customs and Excise at ports of entry was submitted to and approved by the Price Commission.

The proposal to increase the charge to importers for out of-hours attendance was considered and accepted by the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what charges have been made to importers for out-of-hours attendance by the Customs and Excise at the port of Dover and at other ports of entry for the months of January and February 1977, given port by port.

The receipts for charges for out-of-hours attendance at the port of Dover and at other ports for the months of January and February 1977 are not readily available, port by port. The following list records the charges collected in those months in the various Customs and Excise collections. In some collections the amounts represent the sum of charges at more than one port, or airport.