From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Import duty implications and cost-saving strategies for shipping chassis as parts versus complete units.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 19\4\ Scan260 | |
| Date | 30th August 1930 guessed | |
| - 2 - How this high duty "stacks up" to give us an actual landed chassis price over £ 1950 on Phantom II. and £ 1230 on the 20/25, you are familiar with, and it is these high figures (which are very much too high to give a selling price at which we can expect any satisfactory business) that are now, and should be henceforth, our chief concern. DUTY. By shipping the chassis as a complete unit we are unduly penalized on Duty. By shipping anything less than a complete chassis we can import it as an article which has no equivalent saleable value in the country of origin, in which case we pay duty on their cost of production for such items, plus not less than 8%. This is a well established customs ruling, for which we have many precedents, as well, as written statements from Customs Solicitors. Suppose we bought £ 500 worth of the P.II. chassis, we should pay: For Units and Parts, when properly classified £ 500 Duty - 33 1/3% of £ 540 180 Freights, etc. 30 £ 710 A very important saving! Parts for Completion. We believe that substantial savings can be made on cost for completion. For we should aim to omit from the items to be ordered, parts which we are able to supply here with substantial contd. | ||