Tobacco: Illicit Trade
Debate between Lord Rennard and Lord Ashton of Hyde
Lord Ashton of Hyde
As far as the Treasury is concerned, it does not impose duty on e-cigarettes because tobacco is not involved and it has no plans to do so.
Lord Rennard (LD)
My Lords, does the Minister think that the tobacco industry could ever be trusted to act against smuggling, given its proven record of grossly oversupplying certain markets where tobacco taxation is at a low level, particularly to encourage the smuggling of its own products into other countries such as the UK, where levels of tobacco taxation are rather higher, thereby depriving the Exchequer of more than £2 billion a year in revenue which it should be receiving?
Lord Ashton of Hyde
My Lords, it is not the tobacco industry’s duty to prevent smuggling. It can help the Government, but it is HMRC and Border Force which are there to control smuggling.