CUSTOMS & EXCISE - IMPORT GUIDELINES

Due to the excessive levels of duty that the UK Government levies on UK produced items, it has resulted in many people travelling to other countries to bring back goods which can be bought much cheaper abroad than in their own home towns. Alcohol and Tobacco being the most popular imports, since the UK has such high duty levels on those items. The only requirement to achieve importation without the imposition of duty is that those goods must be solely for personal use, although that includes items which may then be given away as gifts (but no form of payment or reward can be accepted in return).

Because of their high rates of duty, it is an extremely attractive proposition, for someone to go abroad, bring back alcohol and tobacco, claim it's for personal use, then sell the items on at a profit. Customs and Excise therefore have to determine whether any goods being brought into the UK are actually for personal use or are attempts to smuggle goods in with the avoidance of paying duty. In order to simplify the issue, what is considered to be a quantity of goods that is reasonable to be considered as for personal use has been defined, by way of EU wide guidelines, with anything above that being treated suspiciously, as an attempt to smuggle goods into the country. This is despite the fact that there are no limits as to what can be brought in for personal use, despite what Customs and Excise may tell the travelling public, alleging, to the unknowing, that the old duty free limits still remain.

The figures Customs and Excise use seem to be arbitrarily created. A moderately hardened drinker, consuming 4 pints a night (2.3 litres), can bring in enough beer to last for about 50 days. A smoker, on a packet of 20 a day, can bring in enough cigarettes to last 40 days. Quite a reasonable quantity, but shouldn't anyone be allowed to travel abroad and bring back a year's supply in one go? It's permitted by law, and there's no reason that shouldn't be done. Except for the attitude of Customs and Excise.

Our alcoholic smoker, doing one trip a year, could quite fairly argue that 7,500 cigarettes (9 times the 'limit') and 8,500 litres of beer (7.5 times the 'limit') is entirely acceptable, and reasonable. A family of four adults would claim that bringing four times that amount back is consequently acceptable, and still reasonable. Customs are however unlikely to agree. Confronted with a vehicle, which won't be small, loaded up with 30,000 cigarettes and 35,000 litres of beer, Customs and Excise are going to think Christmas has come early. And this is where the real problems begin. Customs and Excise officers are the arbiter of what is and isn't for personal use, and no matter what the truth of the matter is, they will decide what is 'reasonable' and what isn't. Of the 15 million travellers who arrive at the Channel Ports every year, 450,000 are stopped, and 30,000 are unable to convince Customs and Excise that their imports are for personal use. Amazingly, 10,000 vehicles a year are impounded. Proof that pirates still operate in the UK.

Brussels accused British Customs of disproportionate tactics in tackling people bringing excessive amounts of alcohol and tobacco into the UK. The UK Government has been told it has two months to satisfy the commission its approach is not in breach of EU or face legal action.

They say people can bring in any amount of booze and tobacco for personal use. UK Customs have been seizing alcohol and tobacco and confiscating vehicles if they think goods will be sold. The Treasury said it is losing huge amounts of tax revenue as people bring in cigarettes and alcohol from across the Channel, where duty tends to be lower.

The commission has already formally told the government to justify the tactics. Now it has gone further and warned that Britain could be taken to the European Court of Justice for breaching EU rules on the free movement of goods and cross-border shopping.

A statement said - "The commission has decided to send the UK a formal request to amend its policies relating to excise duties and cross-border shopping for tobacco and alcohol. The commission's request concerns the policy of seizing goods and sometimes cars even for minor offences. The commission considers that such seizures are disproportionate to the gravity of the offence in some situations and represent an obstacle to the free movement of goods subject to excise duties in the internal market. If there is no satisfactory response to the reasoned opinion within two months the commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice."

European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, who overseas taxation and customs, said, "Cross-border shopping is a fundamental right under EU law and should not be regarded as a form of tax evasion, even if it does give rise to revenue losses for the UK Exchequer." A spokesman for the Treasury said the UK Government would not be 'lectured' by someone 'pretending to be a friend of the British tourist'.

He said, "We fully support British shoppers' rights to bring back as much tobacco and alcohol as they like from the Continent for their own consumption. Our sanctions regime is designed to protect those rights while deterring people from breaking the law, and it is entirely proportionate to a smuggling problem that funds organised crime and costs the British taxpayer £4bn a year."

The spokesman added that the commission wheels out this same spin twice a year, pretending to be the friend of the British tourist, once before the summer holidays and once before the Christmas booze cruises. He added, "It is a cynical worn-out ploy to obtain a good day's coverage in the British press, and everyone should see through it for what it is."

This is yet another example of the innocent shopper being criminalized simply because the authorities in this country are totally inept and incapable of catching the real criminals. Incidentally, the Treasury can't 'lose' huge amounts of tax revenue if it never had it in the first place!