Smuggling

MPs slam HMRC for failing to effectively tackle alcohol fraud

29-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

A group of MPs have slammed HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for failing to effectively tackle alcohol fraud and have claimed the Government department does not understand the implications for the industry of introducing fiscal stamps on beer bottles.

Beer tax fraud group descends on Dover

12-Jun-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Four members of a tax fraud investigation group have spent a day in Dover meeting frontline officers from the UK’s Border Force, which is responsible for monitoring and intercepting smuggled goods.

Stamping out fraud

27-Apr-2006

Pubs are to be on the front line in the fight against smuggling, as Michelle Perrett discovers.If someone offers to sell you cut-price vodka it may...

Industry finds Brown's Budget hard to swallow

17-Mar-2005

Brewers and drinkers have slammed Gordon Brown's decision to slap a 1p duty hike on beer.Both the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the...

BBPA renews calls for beer duty slash

04-Sep-2003

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has renewed its demands for a cut in beer duty rates. The calls come after ferry company Hoverspeed...

Brown's Budget spells bad news for smuggling

09-Apr-2003

A rise in cross-Channel bootlegging is inevitable following the Chancellor's penny-on-a-pint tax hike.So say trade leaders who feel today's Budget...

Brown's blow to duty cut

28-Nov-2002

The trade was disappointed yesterday after Chancellor Gordon Brown failed to outline plans for a duty cut in next March's Budget. Many licensees and...

BII calls for duty cut to tackle bootleggers

28-Nov-2002

by Steve Hemsley Every pub in Britain is losing £12,000 in sales each year to alcohol smuggling but a small cut in duty would destroy this crime at...

Smugglers get green light as Customs checks at ports are relaxed

31-Oct-2002

The government has opened the doors to bootleggers by relaxing Customs checks at ports, claim furious trade leaders.New guidelines issued this week...

Smuggling costs £750m in lost duty

15-Feb-2002

Alcohol smuggling is costing Britain £750m every year in lost duty, according to new figures from the National Audit Office.The new figures...

Customs hits trade in Calais

30-Aug-2001

Customs and Excise's crackdown on alcohol smuggling is believed to be working following the closure of several Calais warehouses.Customs says proof...

New strategy to tackle bootlegging

29-Jun-2001

Customs and Excise is to develop a strategy that will help tackle the problem of bootlegged booze - but will not be lowering excise duty.Newly...

Customs winning war on smuggling

29-May-2001

Conference hears how inroads have been made to tackle importsThe fight to beat cross-Channel smuggling is beginning to see slight improvements, with...

Government ads to tackle tobacco but not alcohol smuggling

02-Oct-2000

The government last week explained why it is spending millions of pounds on a new advertising campaign against cigarette smuggling while doing...