Customs and Cigarettes / Tobacco

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi everyone

Can you keep discussion friendly and on topic please?

Thanks!

hunters

I assume on topic means the first post so I went to look at the website and see you are asking for donations and have lots of advertising. Can we discuss that or is the agenda to have a go at Customs officers?

lunatic_cafe

CrazyClum wrote: »

Customs Officers do a good job on all accounts! I know you can bring back as many but why bother

When they do their jobs at all...

Come on, haven't you listened to the news in the last 12 months ? UKBA were so hopeless that the Home Sec decided to split the Border Force (which is whom most travelers will perceive as 'Customs' Officers) off into a separate unit under the watchful eye of a former copper.

And on the 'why bother' point-how about to save money, which is why we are all here on the this site isn't it? I save myself ₤500 after costs every time I go on a 'run'...that has kept me and mine out of Fuel Poverty this winter.

Nothing 'greedy' about it. Greed is the government charging 3x the cost of supposedly smoking related illnesses to the NHS in duty.

PasturesNew

Timalay wrote: »

Don't make the same mistake as this person. 5,000 cigarettes for personal use. lol

5000, smoking 20/day, is 250 days' worth. If you go abroad once a year .... that's feasible.

Freebirdjussy

The criticism of smokers legally buying their cigarettes/tobacco from the EU invariably comes from non-smokers with the attitude of "How dare they save themselves a great deal of money by buying their tobacco from abroad?"

Wonder how they'd react if they could legally purchase petrol abroad at the same price savings ... and buy as much as they want for personal use?

Would they purchase their petrol legally from abroad at approx 42p a litre or continue to buy UK petrol at £1.30 a litre?

lncidentally the only reason the UK was allowed to charge so much on tobacco products by the EU is that they ring-fenced the increased revenue for health. UK hasn't done this and spend most of this revenue on things other than health.

Of course if the UK Gov actually reduced the tax to around the levels of Belgium and Holland (who have excellent health care) then the problem of smuggling would virtually disappear overnight ... and they would get nigh on all the taxes. As it is the Gov has no-one to blame but themselves for the current situation.

l myself, will continue to purchase my tobacco from abroad. l haven't bought any from the UK for years.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Surely there are more interesting things to do on holiday than queuing in supermarkets for booze and fags?

Freebirdjussy

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Surely there are more interesting things to do on holiday than queuing in supermarkets for booze and fags?

What queuing? lt takes but a few minutes and all that tax l would have to pay in UK l then spend on me. Win win

HP77

Parliament sets the law and the UK Border Agency sets the policy. My fellow Customs Officers follow this policy which means that the onus is on the passenger to prove to me that their cigarettes and tobacco, purchased within the EU and imported into Britain, are for their personal use. If they cannot prove this then goods may be seized.

The travelling public know the rules and should stick to them. Then there are no problems.

If you are not happy with the law as it currently stands then I suggest that you contact your MP.

Storck

I bet the same people that complained about Jimmy Carr avoiding his tax are the same people that do or would buy their cigs and booze abroad to avoid the tax.

Freebirdjussy

HP77 wrote: »

Parliament sets the law and the UK Border Agency sets the policy. My fellow Customs Officers follow this policy which means that the onus is on the passenger to prove to me that their cigarettes and tobacco, purchased within the EU and imported into Britain, are for their personal use. If they cannot prove this then goods may be seized.

The travelling public know the rules and should stick to them. Then there are no problems.

If you are not happy with the law as it currently stands then I suggest that you contact your MP.

The problem is not the law but how you and your fellow officers use them. lt would be helpful if you actually understood your own laws.

When the rules covering personal imports were first introduced – the ‘Personal Reliefs Order’, or PRO for short - the onus of proof fell on the traveller to show that goods were for their own use, if their purchases exceed the guide levels.

In addition the Court ruled the PRO wrongly reversed the burden of proof requiring individuals to prove that they were not holding excise goods over the guide levels for a commercial purpose, and, as such, contravened EU law: specifically directive 92/12/EEC (now 2008/114/EEC) implementing common arrangements for charging excise duty.

On 29 October 2002 the then Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Healey announced the PRO would be repealed, removing the burden of proof on the individual – to bring UK law into line with the court ruling in the Hoverspeed case.

l sincerely hope that the recording of interviews (incl the initial 'chat') and not signing the notebooks by travellers stopped by yourselves continues to increase as that ensures you and your fellow officers stick to the rules.