Tobacco: Smuggling

(asked on 9th September 2015) - View Source
Questioner
Mark Spencer Portrait
Mark Spencer
(Conservative - Sherwood)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 210W, on tobacco: smuggling, how many individual seizures were made by the Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years; and what the total volume of the products seized in each year was.

Answered by
Damian Hinds Portrait
Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 22nd October 2015

To the extent that we are able to provide details, the following tables show the number of individual seizures of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco (HRT) made in each of the last five years and the total volume of tobacco products seized. This does not include the number of individual overseas seizures, which are not recorded centrally, or the number of individual postal seizures from 2010-11 when a new information system was introduced.


Cigarettes: Number of Seizures

HMRC

UKBF

Overseas

Total

2010/11

2,011

28,787

N/A

30798

2011/12

1,845

28,750

N/A

30595

2012/13

1,215

30,011

N/A

31226

2013/14

543

35,622

N/A

36165

2014/15

582

39,578

N/A

40160


Cigarettes: Quantity (Sticks)

HMRC

UKBF

Overseas

Total

2010/11

76,559,489

650,060,670

991,713,280

1,718,333,439

2011/12

142,230,184

455,174,133

1,134,984,800

1,732,389,117

2012/13

98,477,437

487,835,338

1,271,622,181

1,857,934,956

2013/14

59,599,120

318,880,074

1,058,975,055

1,437,454,249

2014/15

75,953,705

439,018,394

1,252,616,840

1,767,588,939


HRT: Number of Seizures.

HMRC

UKBF

Overseas

Total

2010/11

1,596

10,814

N/A

12,410

2011/12

1,567

11,533

N/A

13,100

2012/13

1,044

12,552

N/A

13,596

2013/14

461

12,057

N/A

12,518

2014/15

411

12,804

N/A

13,215


HRT: Quantity (Kgs)

HMRC

UKBF

Overseas

Total

2010/11

46,741

314,775

27,889

389,405

2011/12

56,295

508,112

7,815

572,222

2012/13

67,872

359,635

55,658

483,165

2013/14

32,921

262,873

34,200

329,994

2014/15

57,183

227,928

27,901

313,012

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