Anything to Declare ?
Chugalug,
My sincere thanks for springing to the defence of my erstwhile colleagues in HMC&E, * and for the accompanying heartwarming story ! (#5167) It should be borne in mind that many of them are ex-Forces, some from our mob, and tend to be well disposed towards us.
In my thirteen years with them, I had little contact with the uniformed branch, but in our VAT District (besides me), we had in our room an ex-REME Captain, a Master Mariner and a charming young lady who'd been Third Officer on a tanker in the Gulf.
Thing is, the Customs Officer is trained to go after the Crown's Revenue with an almost Messianic fervour, suspecting everybody and allowing nothing to deflect him from his task. And although I'm sure that present company would not dream of depriving Her Majesty of her rightful dues, you will be horrified to learn that there are weaker vessels among us who are unable to resist the temptation.
Soured therefore by experience, your Preventive Officer will leave no stone unturned and no bag un-rummaged until he finds something - or his day will have been in vain and he will be unable to sleep that night. As a leading light in the accountancy profession warned on the introduction of VAT: "The Customs Officer lives for the day when the yacht sidles into the cove through the mist - and he's waiting on top of the path with musket and cutlass !"
* That was when we were proud of our heritage from the days of Charles I, before amalgamation with those 19th century upstarts of Inland Revenue .....D.
MPN11,
Your #5169: "Changi Village, 1965. £5 of Seiko self-winding (which has a replacement strap, and that's all). I've just unearthed it to photograph for here and it's started ticking: talk about reliable!!"
My old "West End Watch Co" (Longines), 1944, still going strong, will see me out (I have it MOT'd every three years or so). But no thing of beauty like yours, I'm afraid !...D.
Warmtoast,
I think your Car Coat would have been liable for Purchase Tax at that time - it was only childrens' sizes that were exempt. And of course there was always Import Duty !...D.
Reader123,
Your: "Tales of custom officers always alarm me. I presume that nowadays no public servant has that sort of latitude to let you off a statutory liability. Imagine the outcry in the newspapers. Or indeed the scope for bribery"
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over ! And the bribery would have to be on a massive scale ("more than me job's worth"). All the objects so far mentioned have been of relatively small value. De minimis non curat lex. You wouldn't let a car in....D.
Cheers, all. Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 19th Feb 2014 at 16:30.
Reason: Add Material.