Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 162 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU, Cm. 9593, published on 12 July 2018, what are the risk and intelligence-based checks.

Under the Facilitated Customs Arrangement, where there is a material risk of circumvention of higher UK tariffs, the UK would make it illegal to pay the wrong tariff. To check that the right tariffs are being paid, HMRC would carry out risk-based and targeted checks across the country, rather than at the border, according to intelligence and threat assessment that draw on a variety of information sources. This would protect against fraud, ensure that the UK has an effective trade remedies regime and strengthen the UK’s position in trade negotiations.

HMRC has a strong track record in tackling all kinds of avoidance, evasion and non-compliance and already has an established approach to customs compliance involving pre and post clearance activity away from the border, and would use this approach for the Facilitated Customs Arrangement.