With the arrival here of 80 tons of relief supplies destined for the Joint Distribution Committee’s relief and rehabilitation program in Rumania, the J.D.C. now has some 700 tons of relief supplies frozen in customs warehouses.
The goods are in government custody because the Rumanian branch of the J.D.C. cannot pay the huge duties, amounting to about 70 percent of the local market value of the products, which the tax office has placed against the food, medicine and clothing.
The J.D.C. has appealed the matter to the Finance Ministry which has done little to ease the situation, although the duty against individual relief parcels has been slashed drastically. If the duty is not paid on the relief supplies within a short period, they are liable to seizure.
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