Finance Act 1966

1 Relief from duty on imported goods.

(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the Commissioners shall have power to give relief in accordance with subsection (2) thereof from any duty under section 1 of the [1958 c. 6.] Import Duties Act 1958 or under the [1957 c. 18.] Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act 1957 chargeable in respect of goods of any description imported or proposed to be imported into the United Kingdom (hereafter in this section referred to as " the imported articles ") if—

(a) the Board of Trade have notified the Commissioners that in the opinion of the Board the granting of the relief would conduce to the exportation of other goods and, subject to such, if any, limitations or conditions as the Board see fit to indicate, would be expedient in the national interest; and

(b) the Commissioners are satisfied as to those other goods being goods constituting, or incorporating, or manufactured or produced from, equivalent articles;

and, in deciding whether or not to give a notification to the Commissioners under paragraph (a) of this subsection in respect of any imported articles, the Board of Trade shall have regard to the interests of those producing in the United Kingdom goods comparable with those articles.

(2) Relief under subsection (1) of this section from any duty chargeable in respect of any imported articles—

(a) may be given, as appears to the Commissioners to be appropriate in the circumstances of the case—

(i) either in respect of those imported articles as a whole, or in respect of any one or more components thereof; and

(ii) either by remission or repayment (in whole or in part) of the amount of that duty or by payment of an amount equal to the drawback which it appears to the Commissioners would be payable apart from anything in this section if such goods as appear to the Commissioners to be appropriate in the circumstances of the case were to be exported; and

(b) shall be subject to such conditions as the Commissioners see fit to impose—

(i) in order to give effect to any limitations or conditions such as are referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section; or

(ii) for the protection of the revenue ; or

(iii) for securing the exportation of goods constituting, or incorporating, or manufactured or produced from, equivalent articles.

(3) Relief under subsection (1) of this section from any duty such as is mentioned in that subsection shall not be given in respect of, or in respect of any component of, any imported articles by reference to any equivalent articles unless, or except to the extent that, the Commissioners are satisfied that—

(a) relief otherwise than under the said subsection (1) from any such duty as aforesaid chargeable in respect of the equivalent articles themselves, or in respect of goods from which those equivalent articles were manufactured or produced, has not already been given in respect of, or, as the case may be, in respect of the corresponding component of, those equivalent articles or goods; and

(b) relief under the said subsection (1) in respect of, or, as the case may be, in respect of the corresponding component of, other imported articles has not already been given by reference to those equivalent articles ; and

(c) relief from the duty chargeable in respect of the imported articles has not already been given, whether in respect of those articles as a whole or in respect of any component thereof;

and no relief from any such duty as aforesaid, whether by way of drawback or otherwise, available on the exportation of any goods shall be given in respect of the goods exported, or in respect of any goods incorporated in the goods exported, or in respect of any goods from which the goods exported were manufactured or produced, unless, or except to the extent that, the Commissioners are satisfied that—

(i) relief from that duty has not already been given under the said subsection (1) or otherwise ; and

(ii) relief under the said subsection (1) has not been given in respect of, or in respect of any component of, any other goods by reference to equivalent articles constituting, or incorporated in, or used for the manufacture or production of, the goods in respect of which the relief is sought.

(4) In the foregoing provisions of this section—

(a) any reference to a component of any goods or articles shall be construed as a reference to, and to any combination of, any of the following, namely, any component, any ingredient, and any constituent part, of those goods or articles ;

(b) the expression " equivalent articles " means goods of any description which, in the opinion of the Commissioners (having regard to such matters, and in particular to such of the following matters, namely, the description, quantity, quality, value and function of those goods and the imported articles respectively, as appear to the Commissioners to be relevant in the particular circumstances) are sufficiently similar to the imported articles, or to goods which could be manufactured or produced from the imported articles, to be reasonably regarded for the purposes of relief under subsection (1) of this section as interchangeable with those articles or, as the case may be, with goods manufactured or produced from them.

(5) Subsections (1) to (4) of this section shall be construed as if contained in the [1958 c. 6.] Import Duties Act 1958 ; and section 10 of that Act (which relates to false statements or documents in connection with applications for, and to forfeiture for failure to comply with conditions as to, relief) shall apply in relation to relief under subsection (1) of this section as it applies in relation to relief under section 5(1) or section 6 of that Act.

(6) Section 2(1) of the [1965 c. 25.] Finance Act 1965 (which makes provision for the purposes of section 7 of the Import Duties Act 1958 for goods brought to a registered shipbuilding yard to be deemed to be exported) shall have effect as if any reference therein to the said section 7 included a reference to subsections (1) to (4) of this section.

(7) Without prejudice to section 15(2) of the Import Duties Act 1958 and its application by virtue of subsection (5) of this section, for the purposes of any reference in subsections (1) to (4) of this section or in the said Act of 1958 to goods incorporating, or produced or manufactured from, any articles, any container in which goods are exported, being a container—

(a) which is provided by the supplier of the exported goods and is not required to be returned to him ; and

(b) for which, if it were returned to him, that supplier would give no credit and would discharge no contingent liability,

shall be treated as forming part of the exported goods.