asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that import duties have been increased since the commencement of the Free Trade Agreement between this country and the United Kingdom owing to the application of the wholesale selective tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Import Duties Increase.
100.
The Free Trade Area Agreement between this country and the United Kingdom makes a distinction between, on the one hand, import duties imposed for protective purposes and, on the other, fiscal charges, which include both customs duties applied primarily for raising revenue and also internal taxes on goods. Under the agreement no new protective import duties may be imposed on goods subject to the Free Trade Area arrangements and existing protective duties are to be gradually reduced and eliminated. There is no restriction on the imposition of new fiscal charges provided that these apply equally to imported goods and to domestic goods.
No new import duties have been imposed and no existing import duties have been increased since the Agreement came into operation on 1st July, 1966.
The wholesale tax which came into operation on 1st October, 1966, is a fiscal charge. It applies equally to the sales of certain goods within the State and to the import of such goods. It does not, therefore, infringe the Agreement.