Revenue Act 1883

10 Assay and marking of imported gold and silver plate

And whereas by the statutes now in force relating to gold and silverwares, it is enacted and provided that gold and silver plate, not being battered, which shall be imported into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and sold, exchanged, or exposed to sale within the said United Kingdom, shall be of the respective standards now required for any ware, vessel, plate, or manufacture of gold or silver wrought or made in England; and that no gold or silver plate so imported as aforesaid, not being battered, shall be sold, exchanged, or exposed to sale within the said United Kingdom, until the same shall have been assayed, stamped, and marked, either in England, Scotland, or Ireland, in the same manner as any ware, vessel, plate, or manufacture of gold or silver wrought or made in England, Scotland, or Ireland respectively, is or are now by law required to be assayed, stamped, and marked. And that in order that gold and silver plate so imported as aforesaid may be assayed-, stamped, and marked, it shall and may be lawful for any person to send the same to any assay office in the United -Kingdom at which gold and silver plate is now by law required to be assayed, and when so sent it shall be assayed, tested, stamped, and marked in such and the same manner as if the same were British plate by law assayable in such office, but with the addition of the letter E, and that if any gold or silver plate so imported as aforesaid and so sent to any such assay office as aforesaid, shall on being assayed at such assay office be found or discovered to be of coarser alloy than the said respective standards, such gold or silver ware shall be cut, broken, and defaced at such assay office. And whereas it is desirable to secure with more certainty the marking of all gold and silver plate of standard quality imported into Great Britain or Ireland to be sold, exchanged, or exposed for sale, and also to make provision for allowing the exportation of imported plate of coarser alloy than the said respective standards:

Be it enacted,—

1.

That all gold and silver plate imported into Great Britain or Ireland shall be entered to be warehoused, and shall be deposited in a bonded warehouse, and no such plate shall be delivered for home use until assayed, stamped, and marked according to law.

2.

That for the purpose of assay, such plate may upon such notice to the proper officer of customs, upon such security for the payment of duty, and subject to such regulations as the Commissioners of Customs may from time to time prescribe, be removed from the warehouse in charge of an officer of customs by the importer and at his risk, to, and be delivered into the hands of the officers of the assay office nearest to the port of importation.

3.

That upon previous payment by the importer of the expense of assay, the officer of the assay office shall assay the plate and shall give notice of the result of such assay to the proper officer of customs, and to the importer.

4.

If such plate shall be found upon assay to be of standard quality, it may thereupon be cleared for home use, and the officer of the assay office upon production of a certificate from the proper officer of customs that the duty and all proper charges have been paid, shall stamp, mark, and deliver the plate to the importer.

5.

If such plate shall be found upon assay not to be of standard quality, it shall not be cut, broken, or defaced at the assay office, but shall, upon such notice and under such regulations as the Commissioners of Customs shall from time to time prescribe, be removed from the assay office in charge of an officer of customs by the importer and at his risk, and be returned to the warehouse.

6.

All plate returned to the warehouse after assay may within one month from such return he exported by the importer under such, conditions and upon such security as are prescribed by the Customs Laws in relation to the exportation of warehoused goods.

7.

After the expiration of one month from the return of any plate to the warehouse, or sooner if the importer shall desire it, any part thereof not exported shall be cut, broken, and defaced by the proper officer of customs, and shall be delivered free of duty upon payment of all proper charges.

8.

Actual deposit of plate in a warehouse under this section may, with the approval of the Commissioners of Customs, be dispensed with in cases in which the plate can be and is removed direct from the place of examination to the assay office, but plate so removed direct shall, nevertheless, for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been actually deposited.

9.

The notice from the officer of the assay office of the result of the assay above referred to in this section shall be a notice prescribed by the Commissioners of Customs, and as regards the importer, shall be posted to an address to he stated by, him on depositing his plate at the assay office.

10.

In this section the words "proper charges" shall mean all such charges as the Commissioners of Customs, with the approval of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall make for attendance of officers or otherwise. Where plate is removed to an assay office in pursuance of this section, within one month after entry, the rates for warehousing under the Customs Tariff "Act, 1876, shall not be charged.

11.

Articles of plate exempted from assay in the United Kingdom are not subject to the provisions of this section.

12.

Plate imported, for private use and not for sale shall also be exempted upon proof by statutory declaration referring to this section being furnished to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs that such plate is not intended for sale or exchange.

13.

But in case any such plate shall at any time thereafter be taken to an assay office to be assayed, and shall be found upon assay not to be of standard quality, such plate shall be deemed to be plate removed from a warehouse for assay under this section, and shall be dealt "with accordingly. Plate taken to be assayed under this sub-section shall be identified to the satisfaction of the proper officer of the assay office.