'No vat at customs'
Page 7
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A CALL to separate vat from customs duties for importers has come from SDP economics spokesman Ian Wrigglesworth.
In a letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, he said immediate action was needed to end the serious delays at Britain's ports caused by the bringing forward of vat payments on November 10.
Mr Wrigglesworth said the Government had been warned in July about the impact of the new system in leading to delay and also on the potentially damaging effects on the cash flow of small importers.
The worst problems had been at TIR ports, such as Dover, Folkestone and Sheerness, where shipments were being held up by as much as 10 days. Customs officers were having to switch goods directly to inland clearance depots at Stratford (East London) and Dagenham.
Small importing companies were having to increase their monthly Customs bond from 0,000 to between £5,000 and £10,000.
Mr Wrigglesworth criticised the fact that importers could not split a bond to carry over unused money from one shipment to finance the bond for another.
Delays of up to 11 hours have been faced by lorry drivers at Dover because of the new system of vat payments.
The Freight Transport Association says that hold-ups are occuring at Harwich and at Heathrow Airport but there is little disruption elsewhere.
After a quiet start on November 1 and 2, drivers at Dover are having to wait for vat payments to be cleared.
The problems are worse at night when import agents and banks are closed. On the nights of November 8 and 9, the Dover Harbour Board feared it might have had to restrict traffic entry, but the situation eased.