Tonnage and poundage Tonnage and poundage Tonnage and Poundage were certain duties and taxes first levied in Edward II's reign on every tun (cask) of imported wine, which came mostly from Spain and Portugal, and on every pound weight of merchandise exported or imported. Traditionally tonnage and poundage was granted by Parliament to the king for life until the reign of Charles I. Tonnage and poundage were swept away by the Customs Consolidation Act of 1787. Charles I's first Parliament, known as the Useless Parliament, broke with tradition and granted the king tonnage and poundage for a year rather than life out of
Gross register tonnage Gross register tonnage Gross register tonnage (GRT, grt, g.r.t., gt) or gross registered tonnage, is a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", each of which is equal to . Gross register tonnage uses the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel as its basis for volume. Typically this is used for dockage fees, canal transit fees, and similar purposes where it is appropriate to charge based on the size of the entire vessel. Net register tonnage subtracts the volume of spaces not available for carrying cargo, such as engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from gross register