asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties which will be caused by virtue of the requirement that from 1 January, 1988 the single administrative document for customs clearance purposes must be typewritten, in view of the fact that many of those employed in this work at present do not have typing skills and are likely to be made redundant as a result of this requirement which is, apparently, unique to Ireland among the EC member countries.
Written Answers - Customs Clearance Document.
68.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that from 1 January 1988 customs declarations on the new Single Administrative Document will, save in special cases (e.g. personal imports), be required to be typewritten, as the design of the new form is not considered suitable for completion by hand. In addition, completion by hand, which is allowed at present, has not proved satisfactory in ensuring an adequate standard of legibility.Furthermore, typewritten completion is considered to be a reasonable requirement in view of the fact that customs declarations are usually made out by professional, fee-charging agents or by the exporting or importing firms concerned.I am also informed that while approximately half of the member states of the European Community intend allowing hand-written completion for certain categories of declaration (e.g. export declarations) the remaining member states will normally require typewritten completion.