HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling head on. Tobacco fraud costs taxpayers over £2 billion a year, taking vital money away from public services and undermining public health objectives.
The availability of cheap, illegal tobacco within communities harms honest retailers who sell tobacco products legally. Businesses not only lose direct sales of tobacco but also sales of other products by customers who stop coming into their shop. Illicit trading also makes tobacco more accessible to children and young people.
Additional HMRC enforcement officers working with UK Border Agency staff will increase the likelihood of those smuggling and trading in illicit tobacco getting caught. Businesses involved in the illicit tobacco trade risk losing the goods, prosecutions, fines or imprisonment. The full details of other possible sanctions are covered in the Tackling Tobacco Smuggling document.
