asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the practice of His Majesty's Customs and Excise to charge Purchase Tax on gross value of parcels sent by post from wholesale suppliers to their customers, where such gross value includes postage charges; and under which provisions of the Finance Act such purchase tax on postage may be levied.

Yes, Sir. The reference asked for is the second provision of the Eighth Schedule to the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1940.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why notices 78, 78c and 78L, which were received by retailers at the end of March or beginning of April, were distributed, in view of the fact that his Budget proposals on 6th April made these documents useless; and what was the cost to the taxpayer of the printing and distribution of these notices.

Notice No. 78L was issued to traders responsible for collecting Purchase Tax (not usually retailers) on 7th April. It explains the changes in the tax made by the Budget Resolution of the previous day by reference to the pre-Budget provisions as set out in the other notices mentioned, which, therefore, remain in force, and are far from useless. The cost of printing these three notices amounted to £1,430.