Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 63473 on Origin Marking: Occupied Territories, how many compliance checks HMRC undertook to identify whether goods labelled as originating from Israel were produced in Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2024; and how many of those checks identified (a) non-compliance and (b) the mislabelling of goods.
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law, and that goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
HMRC takes a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to tariff enforcement and routinely checks the accuracy of customs declarations. Such checks include checking material particulars such as the declared origin, value and classification of goods. Checks are conducted where risk analysis or intelligence indicates potential non-compliance, and in cases where there is a risk of customs duty under-declaration.
HMRC does not publish details of numbers of checks in relation to specific countries of origin or the outcomes of those checks. However, HMRC confirms that regular and proportionate checks are carried out on Israeli goods in which they are subject to verification to check their originating status.