Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to end losses in tax revenue from tobacco duty fraud.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched its first strategy to tackle illicit tobacco in 2000. This, and consequent strategies with Border Force, have reduced the overall tobacco duty tax gap from 21.7% in 2005/6 to 14.5% in 2022/23.

During this time, the duty gap for cigarettes has reduced by a third, and for hand-rolling tobacco by a half.

In January this year HMRC and Border Force published their latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’. This Government is committed to reducing the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and tackling and disrupting the organised crime groups behind the illicit tobacco trade.

The tobacco strategy is supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding over the next 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability.