Tobacco: Smuggling
(asked on 5th December 2022) - View Source
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much hand rolling tobacco has been seized by (a) HM Revenue & Customs, (b) Border Force and (c) Trading Standards in each financial year since 2018-19.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publishes annual data on illicit tobacco seizures as part of its ‘Outputs for Tackling Tobacco Smuggling’ report. The figures for cigarette and hand-rolling tobacco seizures by HMRC and Border Force since 2018-19 are below. Figures for 2021-22 are not yet available. Trading Standards do not publish comprehensive data on the quantity of cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco they seize.
Financial Year | Cigarette Seizures (sticks) (millions) | ||
HMRC Overseas | Border Force | HMRC Inland | |
2018-19 | 627.2 | 628 | 83.8 |
2019-20 | 575 | 524.1 | 69.5 |
2020-21 | 501.5 | 514.3 | 123.7 |
Financial Year | Hand-rolling tobacco Seizures (kilograms) | ||
HMRC Overseas | Border Force | HMRC Inland | |
2018-19 | 356 | 126,295 | 21,845 |
2019-20 | 0 | 115,785 | 35,901 |
2020-21 | 26,250 | 99,434 | 23,909 |