JAPAN Tobacco International (JTI) has called on the UK Government for further support in cracking down on illicit trade.
The firm appeared in parliament on 23 November last year to highlight the scale and cost of the illegal tobacco and vape trade, calling on MPs for stronger powers and additional funding for Trading Standards to tackle the issue.
JTI highlighted its own work gathering evidence across the north-west of England where the firm claimed to find that 95 stores were selling illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco products, as well as, for the first time, counterfeit vape products. JTI said one of these locations had been selling illicit products since 2015.
Further to this, HMRC estimates that, since the year 2000, criminal activity across the tobacco market has cost around £51.3 billion in lost tax revenue.
As part of the Finance Act 2022, HMRC has the ability to fine these businesses up to £10,000 and suspend any of them that are registered to trade in the sector.
Ian Howell, fiscal and regulatory affairs manager at JTI, has pushed the government to extend these powers to Trading Standards, as was promised during the consultation of the Act.
He said: “During the consultation process, HMRC promised that these powers would be extended to Trading Standards, but the method and time frame to accomplish this has not yet appeared. Without this, the criminals selling illegal tobacco will simply carry on regardless.
“JTI is calling for HMRC to extend these powers to Trading Standards, and for the Treasury to allow Trading Standards to retain the money raised through these penalties to reinvest in their services. Criminals should be made to pay the price for their criminal activity, not taxpayers.”
