Tobacco: Smuggling

(asked on 30th October 2019) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC will publish guidance for businesses on complying with the requirements of the Tobacco Track and Trace system to (a) scan the movement of and (b) record the sale of tobacco through the supply chain; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Simon Clarke Portrait
Simon Clarke
This question was answered on 4th November 2019

Economic operators are responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary software capability to comply with the track and trace obligations. As these are contractual relationships between economic operators and their software providers, HMRC has no plans to make any assessment of their capability.

Since the track and trace system came into force on 20 May, over 38,000 businesses have registered as an economic operator, and over 61,000 premises. Following engagement with the tobacco industry, HMRC assess this represents good coverage of the number of businesses expected to register. As there is a 12-month sell through period for old stock, marked stock that needs tracking and tracing is only just appearing in the UK. During this period, HMRC’s priority has been to educate and support businesses as they familiarise themselves and adapt to the new requirements.

Guidance on the tracking and tracing requirements is available on www.gov.uk. The mechanics of how businesses scan movements and record sales is not prescribed as this will depend on the type of equipment used and the systems operated by individual businesses.

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