1. This Order may be cited as the Customs and Excise Duties (PersonalReliefs for Goods Permanently Imported) (Amendment) Order 1991 and shallcome into force on 1st July 1991.

2. The Customs and Excise Duties (Personal Reliefs for GoodsPermanently Imported) Order 1983(2) shall be amended as follows.

3. In article 11, paragraph 2-

(a)for the words"the Postal Packets (Customs and Excise) Regulations 1975", there shall be substituted the words"the Postal Packets (Customs and Excise) Regulations 1986(3)";

(b)for the words"the Excise Warehousing (Etc.) Regulations 1982", there shall be substituted the words"the Excise Warehousing (Etc.) Regulations 1988(4)".

4. In article 17, paragraph 2, for"£600" there shall be substituted"£700".

5. In article 20, after paragraph (2) there shall be added-

"(3) In relation to this article the provisions of article 10 aboveshall apply only to relief afforded to motor vehicles, caravans, mobilehomes, pleasure boats and private aircraft.".

6. For article 21 there shall be substituted the following -

"21. For the purposes of article 20(1)(c) above, the property shallhave been used by such person in the member state in which he wasnormally resident, and motor vehicles, caravans, mobile homes, pleasureboats and private aircraft must have been so used for a period of atleast six months.".

7. In article 22, after paragraph (2) there shall be added-

"(3) The provisions of article 10 above shall not apply to reliefafforded under this article.".

8. In article 23-

(a)in paragraph (2), for"£600" there shall be substituted"£950";

(b)after paragraph (4), there shall be added-

"(5) In relation to this article the provisions of article 10 aboveshall apply only to relief afforded to motor vehicles, caravans, mobilehomes, pleasure boats and private aircraft.".

9. In article 25-

(a)in paragraph 1(d), the words from"for" to the end shall be deleted;

(b)after paragraph (2), there shall be added-

"(3) The provisions of article 10 above shall not apply to reliefafforded under this article.".

10. In article 26-

(a)in paragraph 1(d), the words from"for" to the end shall be deleted;

(b)in paragraph (3), the words from"in" to the end shall be deleted.

11. For Schedule 1 there shall be substituted the Schedule to this Order.

Article 11

SCHEDULE

Articles 20(2), 22(2),and 23(4)

"SCHEDULE I

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Customs and Excise Duties (Personal Reliefsfor Goods Permanently Imported) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983 No. 1828), whichgives relief from customs and excise duties and VAT on goods importedpermanently into the United Kingdom on a transfer of residence. The newOrder relaxes some of the conditions for relief. The amendments resultmainly from the implementation of Council Directive 89/604/EEC (OJ No.L348, 29.11.89, p.28) which amended Council Directive 83/183/EEC (OJ No.L105, 23.4.83, p.64) and also from a change in the ECU conversion rateand the revocation of certain statutory instruments.

Article 3 refers to statutory instruments which have replaced two of thosementioned in the Order.

Articles 4 and 8 deal with reliefs for wedding gifts. Article 4 increases from £600 to £700 the value of individual wedding gifts that canbe imported free of import charges when a person moves home from outsidethe EC on the occasion of marriage. The change is due to a revision ofthe ECU exchange rate. Article 8 makes a corresponding increase from£600 to £950 in the value of individual wedding gifts forpeople moving on marriage from another EC country. This change derivespartly from the ECU exchange rate revision and partly from an increasein the monetary limit made by the amending Directive.

Articles 5, 6, 9 and 10 deal with personal belongings (other than motor vehicles, caravans, mobile homes, pleasure boats and private aircraft) that are imported from another EC country on a transfer of residence or in connection with furnishing or closing down a secondary residence. They abolish the need for a fixed period of prior use abroad before importation, substituting a simple requirement for"use"; and they abolish the 12-month restriction on subsequent disposalin the United Kingdom. Article 7 similarly abolishes the 12-month disposal restriction on belongings imported from another EC country on a transfer of residence on the occasion of marriage.

Article 11 and the Schedule quadruple the allowances for drink and tobaccoproducts imported when a person moves home from another EC country.