asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 March 2004 (WA 193), for each of the financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, what proportion by value of goods, excluding agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce, imported into the United Kingdom from countries that were not members of the European Union effectively bore no import or customs duties in respect of goods for which the full rate of customs duty was zero and of goods for which there was a positive rate of customs duty but preferential arrangements allowed a zero rate to be claimed. [HL151]

For the financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, the proportion of goods entering free circulation in the United Kingdom, excluding the categories referred to in the question, that effectively bore no import or customs duties was as follows:

2003-04 68 per cent

2004-05 64 per cent

2005-06 68 per cent