Customs Decision

Helps Fiji

The Fiji economy particularly will benefit from the decision by the Australian Customs in March to relax restrictions on duty-free goods brought into Australia by overseas visitors. Norfolk Island is another duty-free area which will also benefit from the Austra lian decision. Both islands are important Australian tourist des tinations.

Previously travellers were en titled to bring back to Australia duty free various personal articles, binoculars, a portable typewriter, cameras, one radio, other electronic entertainment de vices such as a cassette or record player, one litre of liquor, 200 cigarettes, plus SIOO worth of other duty-free goods. The radio and other devices were restricted as to weight. In future, travellers can bring in $2OO worth of duty free goods, plus a further SI2O worth at 20 per cent duty, but the weight restrictions have been removed from the radios and other electrical entertainment de vices, and these concessions must now be included in the over-all S2OO worth of duty-free allow ances. There is no alteration to the other allowances. TV sets are still not included.

In some ways the Australian traveller may be worse off, be cause there were only weight and not monetary restrictions on the previous radio and electronic concessions. So long as weight met the requirements there was nothing to stop travellers buying several hundred dollars worth of electronic equipment, plus $lOO worth of other concessions. How ever, Fiji and Norfolk Island traders now expect a big increase in sales of radios to travellers.