IMPORT DUTIES AND TAXES AND TRADE REGULATIONS Japanese Manchuria is a free-trade area. No import duties are levied on goods of any kind. The Japanese regulations as to marking of goods and the Japanese food laws are applicable in this leased territory. See pages 108 to 114 above. NETHERLAND EAST INDIES Sumatra, Java, Celebes, Moluccas; the Netherland areas of Borneo, New Guinea, and Timor; Banka, Billiton, Etc. Development of the rubber and coconut industries in the Netherland East Indies has diverted considerable land from other agricultural uses and has employed much labor away from the production of foodstuffs. In addition there has been a considerable rise in the standard of living. These factors have tended to promote the consumption of canned and other prepared foodstuffs. American products are in competition in these islands with those of Australia and the Netherlands. The detailed figures given in the following table show the changes in the various American items, outstanding among which is the increased movement of sardines. The trade fluctuates somewhat on account of variations in local economic conditions, but it probably will show a general upward trend for some years to come. UNITED STATES EXPORTS OF CANNED FOODS TO NETHERLAND EAST INDIES, 1924-1929 1 Included with "Other canned fruits." 15, 378 Previous to 1929 Canned fruits for salad" were included in United States export statistics under "Other fruit products" and not under "Other canned fruits." IMPORT DUTIES AND TAXES In the Netherland East Indies import duties are levied on prepared foods at the rate of 12 per cent of the c. i. f. value in port of entry, under item 117, "Foodstuffs not separately denominated." Foreign merchandise values are converted into florins at the exchange prevailing at time of clearance. (The par value of the florin is 40.2 cents United States currency, but the quotation on any specific date may be ascertained from banks dealing in foreign exchange or from daily newspapers carrying financial news.) No preferential rates are granted to imports of any origin-not even to those from the mother country or from other Netherland colonial possessions. A statistical tax of one-fourth of 1 per cent of the c. i. f. value and another minor tax known as the "goods duty are collected on all imports. There are no sales or other internal-revenue taxes on imported foodstuffs. All customs charges are based on the net weight expressed in units of the metric system, which has recently come into general use throughout these islands. MARKING-DOCUMENTATION No requirements are in force in the Netherland East Indies for marking goods to show country of origin, nor are there any other special labeling regulations in effect in these islands. A consular visa is not necessary on the shipping documents, the ordinary commercial invoice and ocean bill of lading sufficing. These should go forward under separate cover, not in a parcel of merchandise. The usual exporter's declaration required by the United States customs regulations on all goods shipped out of the country is necessary. SANITARY REQUIREMENTS The Penal Code of the Netherland East Indies makes a general provision against the sale or distribution of foodstuffs which are injurious to health or which have been mixed with harmful ingredients. No special regulations have so far been enacted governing the importation and sale of canned and prepared foods. However, the Kodex Alimentarius of the Netherlands, although never actually put in force there, is used as a guide in examining foods. This Kodex has now been superseded in the Netherlands by the Warenwet and special regulations under that law, which will, in all probability, come to be the standards tacitly accepted in the Netherland East Indies. Products prepared for sale within these islands which meet the requirements of the Netherland laws (see pp. 180 to 196 of Trade Promotion Series No. 85, Canned Foods in Europe) will probably not encounter any difficulty in the Nether land colonies. NETHERLAND EAST INDIES LAWS APPLYING TO CANNED FOODS PENAL CODE [Extract] ART. 233. Anyone who, in order to sell or to distribute, mixes bread, eatables, or drink with ingredients injurious to health, or has another to mix, sell, or distribute such eatables, drinks, or ingredients, or knows of the mixture, is punished with imprisonment from six days to two years and a fine of 8 to 200 gulden. PALESTINE Only very limited quantities of American canned foods are shipped to Palestine. In general, the purchasing power of the population is low and the country is essentially agricultural. For these reasons the market is small, and there is little probability of any important expansion taking place in the near future. UNITED STATES EXPORTS OF CANNED FOODS TO PALESTINE, 1924-1929 1 Syria and Palestine. 2 Includes Canned fruits for salad," which previous to 1929 were included in United States export statistics under "Other fruit products" and not under Other canned fruits. IMPORT DUTIES AND TAXES Specific duties in Palestine are stated in mils per net kilo. The mil, about 0.48 cent United States currency, is one-thousandth of the Palestine pound, which has the same par value as, and fluctuates with, the British pound sterling. Ad valorem rates are based on the c. i. f. value in port of entry, foreign merchandise values being converted to Palestine currency at the exchange prevailing, presumably, on date of clearance. Palestine grants no preferential rates of duty to foodstuffs of any origin except Syria and Transjordania, whose products are admitted free of duty. No customs surtaxes nor sales or other internal-revenue taxes are assessed on imports of canned goods. The metric system is employed in Palestine for customs and general commercial purposes, but local weights and measures are in common use by the people. Tariff No. Article Rate of duty Mils Dollars 1 83 Corn beef in tins exceeding 400 grams each, including the weight of the Fish: 111 In brine and salted, whether in tins or otherwise (including brine 1 Converted to United States currency at the rate of 0.48 cent to the mil. 2 Net weight except as otherwise specified. NOTE. Ad valorem duties are based on the c. i. f. value in port of entry. MARKING-DOCUMENTATION No regulations are in force in Palestine requiring imports to bear an indication of origin nor are any special labeling requirements encountered. There is, however, a prohibition against the importation of goods bearing a trade description which is false in a material respect; and against goods of foreign manufacture bearing any name or trade-mark being or purporting to be the name or trademark of a manufacturer, dealer, or trader in Palestine, unless such name or trade-mark is accompanied by a definite indication of the country in which the goods were made or produced. Consular documents are not necessary on shipments to Palestine. The commercial invoice and ocean bill of lading are sufficient; these should go forward under separate cover and not in a parcel of merchandise. The usual exporter's declaration required by the United States customs regulations on all goods shipped out of the country is necessary. SANITARY REQUIREMENTS The importation of foodstuffs of all kinds is governed by the old Ottoman law of May 21, 1903 (1321, Ottoman calendar), which requires medical inspection or examination of food products. Under a general order dated August, 1924, most foodstuffs, including canned foods, will be inspected only when there is reason to suspect that they are diseased, unsound, unwholesome, or otherwise unfit for consumption, or are adulterated or falsified, or not of the nature, substance, and quality represented. The sale of adulterated and harmful foodstuffs is controlled by sections of the Ottoman Penal (1913) and Criminal (as amended 1914) Codes, which provide penalties for violations of the law. Foods containing preservatives must be labeled to show the nature and quantity (parts per million) of the preservative used. PALESTINE LAWS APPLYING TO CANNED FOODS OTTOMAN PENAL CODE OF 1913 [Extracts] ARTICLE 196. Those who sell noxious drugs which will injure the public health or adulterated drinks or poisonous substances without surety are imprisoned from one week to two years and a fine of 1 mejidick gold piece to 25 mejidick gold pieces is taken, and the article, whatever it may be, sold by them is seized by the Govern ment. ART. 257. Besides causing to be thrown away and cast into the sea or river or to the outside of the town fruits, etc., the consumption of which is injurious to the health or body, or which have become fetid by remaining and rotting in the shops, likewise a fine of from 6 to 10 beskliks is taken from those who sell the same. OTTOMAN CRIMINAL CODE (AS AMENDED 1914) * * * [Extracts] ART. 194. (2) Whoever adulterates articles of food or drink or medicine or changes them or practices fraud in their original composition in a manner dangerous to health, and whoever offers such things for sale knowing that they are adulterated, will be punished with imprisonment for from three months to three years and with a fine of from £T5 to £T50. (3) Whoever sells articles of food and drink and other things which are dangerous to the public health, though there is no adulteration or change or fraud, but so that the purchaser does not know of the danger, will be punished with imprisonment for from 15 days to 3 months, and with a fine of from £T2.50 to £T50. (5) Whoever takes an article of food or drink which, though not injurious to the public health, is imitated and adulterated and puts it in the place of a genuine article, or whoever abstracts some of the essential elements of an article partly or wholly so that its value is lessened and puts it thus in the place of the genuine article, and offers it for sale as though it were the genuine article, will be punished with imprisonment for from two weeks to six months and with a fine of from £T2.50 to £T50. If any of these acts is done through mistake or negligence or lack of appreciation of the law and the regulations, or if it is a result of lack of skill in his trade, the offender will be punished as follows: * * * For the acts mentioned in part 2 of this article he will be punished with imprisonment from one week to three months and with a fine of from £T1 to £T25. For the acts mentioned in parts 3 and 4 he will be punished with imprisonment from one week to one month and with a fine up to £T5. And if the life of anybody is endangered in consequence of any of the above-mentioned acts, the punishment prescribed will be increased by one-half. If the death of a person results from any of these acts, measures will be taken according to part 1 of chapter 2 of this code. |