"ملف 60/20 I ‏(C 93) بنك إيران الامبريالية: البحرين وغيرها" [و‎‎٩‎٨] (٤٠٩/١٩٦)

.A
THIS DOCUME H PROPER! n OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
—
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PERSIA. —^ December 28, 1933.
CONFIDENTIAL. //- Section 1.
[E 7951/2502/34]
Mr. FAdrid to Sir L. Oliphant.—(Received December 28.)
The Imperial Bank of Persia,
Dear Sir Lancelot, London, December 22, 1933.
YOU are probably aware that the Persian Government some time ago wished
us to pay customs duty on goods required for the bank.
We protested, and so did the British Minister, and the Persian Government
withdrew their claim in a long memorandum addressed to the Legation, of which
you have probably received a copy; if not, I can send you one.
In sending this to Wilkinson, Mr. Mallet added
" It occurs to me that it might be useful to place on record with the
Persian Government our interpretation of the phrase ' every kind of taxes
and imposts,' but you will probably wish to consult your board and I the
Foreign Office before deciding whether such action is desirable."
Our interpretation of the phrase " every kind of taxes and imposts," is
contained in the note which I now enclose. This was prepared for us by counsel,
and we have sent a copy to Wilkinson for communication to His Majesty's
Minister.
In doing so we pointed out that paragraph 2 of the note has nothing to do
with the particular argument put forward by His Highness Feroughi (then
Minister for Foreign Affairs), and we suggested that possibly it would be well
to omit this paragraph in any memorandum the British Minister might wish to
hand to the Persian Government.
Judging from Mr. Mallet's remark quoted above, it is possible the British
Minister may wish to consult the Foreign Office before making any communication
to the Persian Government on the subject, so we have thought it right to explain
the position to you and send you a copy of our note.
Yours sincerely,
E. M. ELDRID [Manager).
Enclosure in No. 1.
Imperial Bank of Persia.
Memorandum as to the Incidence of Customs Duties, having regard to
Terms of the Concession.
THE only provisions in the concession exempting the bank from taxation
are paragraph 3 of article 5 and paragraph 2 of article 12. The main operative
provision is contained in the first sentence of article 5, paragraph 3, which
provides that—
"The bank, its establishments and branches, shall be wholly exempt
from every kind of taxes and imposts."
It is on this provision that the bank rely. It is only necessary to look at
the other provisions for the purpose of displacing the argument that the geneial
words quoted are in any way limited by implication arising from the othei
provisions of the concession. The bank maintains that the general words a^ie
not so limited, but must be given their full and natural meaning, and that the
other provisions are intended to meet cases which would not fall within the
general provision.
[999 ee—1]