Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of Trading Standards officers to tackle tobacco duty avoidance.

Trading Standards have a range of powers to effectively tackle the illicit supply of tobacco.

In 2023 those powers were extended to enable Trading Standards to tackle non-compliance with the UK’s Tobacco Track and Trace system, which regulates tobacco at all stages of the supply chain, from manufacture through to retail.

These powers enable Trading Standards to make referrals to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on potential breaches of the law, and for HMRC to impose penalties. HMRC are responsible for tackling tax avoidance and evasion.

Trading Standards and HMRC work closely together on tackling tobacco duty evasion. In 2021 they launched a joint initiative, called Operation CeCe to specifically target the illicit tobacco market. Through sharing of intelligence, combined with local knowledge and expertise, Operation CeCe contributes significantly to the detection and seizure of illicit tobacco products at retail level. Since introduction, more than 4,900 seizures have been made, and over £28 million of revenue loss has been prevented.