asked the Minister for Finance whether he will take steps to ensure that the entry of books as gifts, or for review, is not inhibited by customs restrictions.
22.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Importation of Books.
21.
asked the Minister for Finance whether he will review the turnover tax exemption limit of £2.60 for books imported from abroad in view of the hardship and delays caused to people importing books for educational purposes.
I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 21 and 22 together.
Books, other than certain types of religious books which are subject to a protective duty, are free of ordinary customs duty and all books are free of wholesale tax. Where the customs duty, including tax, on goods in any one parcel is less than £0.13 the duty is statutorily waived and books, including gifts, to a value, with postage, of £2.60 are covered by this exemption. Gift parcels coming from outside Europe are admitted free up to £5 in value.
The value-limit for exempt gifts was fixed after careful consideration and I am not prepared to raise it either generally or in the case of books. An exemption for books imported for review, besides being open to abuse, would be contrary to the comprehensive nature of the turnover tax and would invite applications for exemption in other cases claimed to be equally meritorious. Accordingly, I cannot agree to provide such an exemption or to increase the exemption limit of £0.13.
Would the Minister not agree that this decision has caused great concern and will interfere considerably with the whole normal process by which books come in for review and by which books are bought for educational purposes? Would he not agree that the situation is unprecedented? Books for review have to be sent through the customs procedure and there is a long hold-up involved in getting the books out. This is most unwise and could easily be dealt with by an administrative exemption in respect of books for this purpose.
No. I am informed that it would not be easy by any means to deal with it on an administrative basis. There is the other consideration that I mentioned of doing so constituting the basis for a claim for other exemptions which people might contend were more important than this. Furthermore, the recent change was brought about largely in the interests of Irish booksellers.
Would the Minister not agree that the answer he has given is couched very much in administrators' terms? While I can understand an administrator trying to simplify the process of administration and submitting such a reply to the Minister, I think the Minister ought to reconsider it. Does he not agree that it is intolerable that a book cannot be sent for review here over the price of £2.60—and very many books are over that price —without going through this long and complicated procedure? This will interfere very much with the ordinary process of public enlightenment. The reviewing of books is a very important feature of the whole process of public enlightenment and education. Will he not agree as a Minister to look again at this matter? There are very considerable complaints about it. As a Minister concerned to take political decisions in the public interest, he ought to look at it again and not be unduly influenced by whatever administrative problem may exist. Would he not agree to do that?
As I have already indicated, one reason for this change was the interests of Irish booksellers because there was a strong contention that the then existing situation discriminated against Irish booksellers. I do not think this can be described as an administrative decision. Neither do I believe—although as the Deputy says there has been a good deal of complaint about this—that it has been demonstrated that this decision will affect in any significant or substantial way the availability of books or information. If it should emerge that there should be any substantial or significant interference in this way I would certainly look at the matter again.
Would the Minister not agree——
We cannot discuss this question all evening.
——that it cannot be in the interests of booksellers that books should not be reviewed?
I do not accept that an effect of the recent change is that books will not be reviewed.
I suggest that English publishers will be very slow to send books here for review, knowing that they will arrive back so late that the review will be of little value.
This matter is being kept under review.
I hope the Minister will keep it under review in the immediate future.
Question No. 23.