Duty on Tea.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 March 1922, Page 1

Duty on Tea.

WELLINGTON March 30,

■A statement has appeared in a Wellington paper to the effect that practically every pound of tea which comes into New Zealand is subject to a duty of sd, of which the Commonwealth Government gets 2d and the New Zealand Government 3d. In the rare cases where tea comes direct from India, it was added, the duty is 3d per lb, but generally it has to be transhipped at Sydney. The Department of Industries and Commerce states, with reference to this, that most of the tea received in New Zealand is shipped direct from the country of origin. A fair quantity however, comes via Australia. The duty on tea from India and British possessions is 3d a lb. If tea is landed from foreign countries, sucb as Java or China, the duty is 6d a lb, both of these amounts being revenue to the Government of New Zealand. If tea comes via Australia, it is always purchased “on the water,” so far as Australia is concerned; that is to say, no claim for duty can be made by the Commonwealth Government under s!uch circumstances. Occasionally, and instances are very rare, New Zealand merchants have found it cessary to buy tea from warehouses in Australia. In this case of course, the price would include the duty that had been paid by the Autralian merchants to the Australian Government, and the above statement appears to refer to an exceptional instance such as the i latter,