Pubs dealt further blow as crisis hits Customs

Pubs are set to be dealt a further blow in their fight to halt booze cruisers as Customs and Excise find themselves in crisis.

Customs and Excise is to face a police inquiry following accusations that over-zealous officers mistreated shoppers, encouraged crimes to be committed and misled courts to cover up wrongdoing.

The specialist crime unit at Scotland Yard has launched an official investigation into officers' conduct following complaints similiar to that of Pam Ellis, a 63-year old pensioner, who was left stranded on her own in Dover when she was ordered off her coach tour and had her goods confiscated by customs.

But although the public has welcomed the news, it hasn't gone down so well with the trade. Our current poll has so far found that 80 per cent of you think relaxing customs checks at ports would open the doors to bootleggers.

As a result, licensees and brewers are keen for duty to be cut and for customs officers to crack down on shoppers bringing back alcohol for resale.

And some reports suggest that the barrage of allegations signal a crisis for the national investigation service, which this week was told it could no longer use heavy-handed tactics at ports by the government.

The news means that officers will have to prove that goods are being brought in for illegal re-sale instead of the shopper having to show their goods are for personal use.

The Wine and Spirit Association (WSA) has now urged the Chancellor to cut duty on alcohol because it said it was necessary to "get to the heart" of smuggling.

WSA Director Quentin Rappoport says, "It's all very well increasing allowances and putting the burden of proof onto Customs officers rather than shoppers, but really the Chancellor is just avoiding tackling the real issue - the duty differential between the UK and France.

"The Government loses £400m each year in excise and VAT due to cross border shopping of wines and spirits. At the same time the French Government gains £135m in revenue from British shoppers. By increasing the allowances, the Treasury is only setting itself up for further losses, not to mention intensifying the threat to British businesses and jobs. Every time a bottle is bought abroad rather than at home, UK pubs, off licences, importers and distributors lose out."

This latest inquiry also comes on top of a four-year police investigation, into the way officers have dealt with drugs smuggling cases, which should conclude by the end of this year.