Hon. Douglas Abbott (Minister of Finance):

In my budget speech I announced that the reduction of $2 per thousand in the excise duty on cigarettes would come into force on February 20. It is now proposed that this reduction shall be effective as from February 1 in order to assist in having the benefit passed on to the consumer as promptly as possible. Advice to this effect has been sent to licensed manufacturers of cigarettes.

[Later:!

Mr. E. D. Fulton (Kamloops):

I should like to address a question to the Minister of Finance, which is dealt with in part, but only in part, by his own statement earlier today. I also refer to the statement made in his budget speech as found on page 2133 of Hansard. Can the minister give the assurance that the practice normally followed, namely, that of making no refunds in connection with duty paid on goods on which the tax or duty has been reduced in the budget, will be followed in all cases? If not, can he say in what cases exception will be made?

Hon. Douglas Abbott (Minister of Finance):

I think my statement made it clear that the reduction in taxes, in the case of cigarettes, is a reduction in the excise duty. As the house is aware, there are two forms in which taxes are levied on cigarettes. There is the excise tax and the excise duty. Last year the reduction was made in the excise tax. This year, for technical reasons, which I need not go into here, but because of certain customs regulations, the reduction was made in the duty. The duty is collected by means of stamps which are purchased by the manufacturers in their warehouses, and I am informed that in the past when reductions in duty have been made-there have been two reductions in the last twenty or thirty years, one in 1932 and one on cigars in 1946-a somewhat similar practice was

followed, and this enables the manufacturers to pass on the reduced price promptly to the consumer. In the case of ordinary taxes which are imposed at the time of delivery there will be no refund.

Mr. Fulton:

May I ask the minister

whether in the case of duties paid on tobacco prior to February 1, which was the effective date or the announced date, there will be a refund of those duties?

Mr. Abbott:

No.

On the orders of the day:

Mr. A. Phileas Cote (Maiapedia-Matane):

I should like to ask a question supplementary to that asked by the hon. member for Kamloops (Mr. Fulton). Is there not an additional tax in Quebec on cigarettes?

Mr. Abbott:

Of course there is a four-cent tax that was put on by the provincial government of Quebec.

Mr. Matthew MacLean (Cape Breton North and Victoria):

Mr. Speaker, I move that

the second report of the standing committee on standing orders, presented to the house February 19, be now concurred in.

Mr. H. R. Argue (Assiniboia) moved

for leave to introduce Bill No. 186, to amend the Canada Grain Act (distribution of box cars).

Explain.

Mr. Argue:

The purpose of this bill is to

provide in a new section of the car order book a rule for the fair allocation of box cars among elevator companies at any marketing point. By allocating their seeded acreage among the elevator companies at a marketing point, the producers themselves will determine the distribution of box cars at that point.

Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.

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