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 people were convicted in relation to seizures made by the Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is not a prosecuting authority. Where cases handled by HMRC do proceed to the criminal courts the prosecution is carried out by the relevant independent prosecuting authority. This is the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in Scotland, and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI).