LONDON – U.K. retailers
are applauding a government probe into tobacco smuggling, The Grocer reports.
The Home Affairs Committee is starting an investigation into how the country
should be doing to stop the sale and import of contraband tobacco. Contraband
tobacco sales cost the United Kingdom an estimated £2 billon each year.
“The U.K. has one of the
highest rates of tobacco duty in the EU, which makes it one of the most
lucrative markets for smugglers. The role of Border Force is therefore vital in
reducing the supply of illicit tobacco. We will be looking at the scale of the
problem and what more can be done to tackle it,” said Keith Vaz MP, who chairs the
committee.
Part of the investigation
will center on the reasons behind a drop over the past three years in the
number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions for smuggling tobacco. The
committee will also look into why the Border Force missed its own goals for
seizing illegal tobacco in 2012/2013 and how Ireland’s plain packaging
regulations would impact contraband tobacco in the United Kingdom. Ireland
is experiencing its own uptick in tobacco smuggling.
“It is not good enough
that the government has missed its own targets for reducing tobacco smuggling
this year,” said James Lowman, CEO of the Association of Convenience Stores.
“It is time for a rethink about the resources available to police and trading
standards in prioritizing the detection and closing down the criminal
operations that blight our communities and damage the livelihoods of legitimate
retailers.”