GREAT COMMERCIAL FRAUDS IN VICTORIA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1415, 13 May 1886, Page 2

GREAT COMMERCIAL FRAUDS IN VICTORIA.

Some unscrupulous Victorian merchants have it seems discovered a system of making “ large profits and quick returns,” which for some time past appears to have been going on merrily as a marriage bell, to the utter routing of their Sydney rivals, and to the serious depletion of the purse of the Victorian Government. Notwithstanding the heavy import duties of their colony as compared with New South Wales, they have through this device been able to undersell the merchants of Sydney, and that in their own market ; and it has been a puzzle which was long iucapablc of solution as to how this could possibly be accomplished. It was, indeed, as though a heavily-weighted horse should invariably distance an equally fleet and strong competitor carrying only a light weight, and the inference could only be that there was fraud somewhere. So, of course, it has proved, and this is how the discovery was made. Ths Secretary of the Sydney Free Trade Association (Mr E. G. Fulsford) having visited Victoria to impure into the working of the ad vaknem duties of that colony ascertained certain ugly facts, which are embodied in u report presented by him to the Association, and which, to use the words of a contemporary, clearly prove “ the existence of what may be called a doublebarrelled system of fraud in connection ivith the collection of Customs duties in Melbourne,” the working of which is thus described by the Tasmanian Mail :—“ The revenue is defrauded in a

wholesale manner on both the imports and the exports, and in both cases by a similar process, viz,, by the production of salted’ invoices. In the case of im-

porters two sets of invoices are sent ; those intended for the inspection of the Customs authorities showing a far less value than those which arc for the private use of the importers, who thus save the difference iu the amount of duty.

When goods arc to bo exported upon which a drawback is allowed, duplicated sets of invoices are again resorttd to, but the modus operand! adopted in the case of imports is exactly reversed. The invoices showing the larger values are

iresentod to the Customs olUccrs, while

those showing the lessor, and the real values, are sent to the consignees. The Government, therefore, arc got at both ways, first by receiving loss in the shape of duty than they are legally entitled to, and secondly, by paying more in the shape of drawbacks than they ought to.” Writing upon the same subject our Oarnaru namesake adds the follow-

ing further particulars : —“ Conclusive evidence has been obtained that this

most perfect system of fraud, for tho perpetration of which all that was required was pen, ink, and paper, tha ability write a»d swear to a lie, cow-.

hn'd with credulity on the part of the public, has boon for a long time, and is being, carried out upon an extensive sea’e Lately certain (inns shipped goods from Melbourne to Sydney, and invoices, intended only for the eyes ot the Customs authorities in Melbourne, found their way into the hands ot the consignees of the goods in Sydney. The prices in these invoices wore so excessive that they naturally attracted considerable attention. r ! ho object, however, was clearly seen through, and one of these invoices actually tore the stamp of the Victorian Collector of Commons. These and other invoices received in Sydney wove taken to Melbourne, and carefully compared with the Customs documents Out of the twenty so examined one was found to he right, the search for some had to bo abandoned for want of time, and ten revealed frauds implicating three firms. Wc arc told that one firm had sold Victorian clothing to the extent of about £2OOO in one month, to one Sydney firm. The invoices presented to the Customs and on which drawback was obtained, amounted to 50 or (iO per cent, more money, thereby defrauding the dovenment of something like £BO. In one case the invoice presented at the Customs for the purpose of obtaining a drawback of duty was .-£3OO in excess of the true value of the goods. In another case a small parcel of goods was valued at the Customs at 80 per cent, more than was charged to the buyer in Sydney. Another firm who had sold largo lines of clothing had regularly handed to tiic Customs invoices raised GO per cent, above the invoice prices to the purchasers. In one ease that for every 20s paid as nd valorem duty the exporter received •18s nd valorem, drawback from the Customs. The Victorian Customs has, by these fraudulent merchants, been used as au inexhaustible bank whence to draw money to make good profits abandoned in the competition against honest Sydney merchants. The system of fraud was most complete, and had an infinite variety of phases. It has be'u carried on by men wiio were assumed to be men of high commercial integrity, and it will be interesting to note what will be the outcome of the disclosures which have been made.” Commenting upon the facts before stated, our contemporary adds :—“ Uno thing is perfectly clear ; nd valorem duties hold out, ns Mr Bright said some years ago, peculiar temptations to fraud, and having before us the frightful commercial immorality which has been brought to light in Melbourne, it might not be amiss if inquiry wore made in this colony as to he working of our Customs system.” —“ Mail.”