Customs & Excise has extended its anti-booze and tobacco smuggling
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measures to include HGVs, and the ramifications for hauliers are potentially huge— if your driver gets caught twice your truck could be seized. Miles Brignall reports.
• WHEN TRANSPORT manager Ron Moore arrived at his desk at Westfield International Transport on 17 July, it soon became dear all was not well. As he does every morning, he checked the whereabouts of the company's 12 trucks via the satellite navigation system and found that one, instead ofheading down the M4 towards the firm's base in Bristol, was stuck in Calais, where it had been for some time.
After ringing the ferry company in vain to find out what was happening, he rang his customer to say there was a problem and that the delivery would be late. An hour later, the same customer rang him back saying he had just been contacted by Customs & Excise and told a large consignment of tobacco had been found among their load of pigeon feed and that they should expect a lengthy delay.
Three weeks later the same satellite system on his computer showed him that the MAN tractive unit was now in a truck park in Ramsgate. Moore's truck made a little piece of history in that it was probably the first to be seized by Customs & Excise staff wielding their increased powers in the fight against tobacco smuggling.
The day before, Customs had announced that it was extending the anti-smuggling measures that had been successful in halting booze runners in white vans to include all HGVs.
Westfield's driver, it transpired, had tried to smuggle 50 okg of rolling tobacco into the UK, and Moore's managing director Bob Downton had to pay the price for his driver's stupidity.
Since the vehicle was impounded, Moore told CM his local Lib Dem MP Steve Webb is now raising the matter with the Treasury (CM, 16-22 August).
Old habits
• For years international drivers supplemented their income by selling drink and tobacco brought back from abroad to their friends, and most hauliers turned a blind eye to it. It was all much easier in the days of duty free; there were set limits on the amount we could bring into the UK-200 cigarettes and a litre of spirits—and while selling it has always been illegal, the quantities involved meant it drew little attention from the authorities.
However, with the abolition of Duty Free came a much freer stance. Anyone travelling between EU states can take as much as they want as long as it's for personal use. The wide disparity in drink and particularly tobacco prices between the UK and the rest of Europe has led to the creation of a huge black market in imported cigarettes, which is estimated to be costing the taxman L.4bn.
"We estimate that over 8o% of all smuggled tobacco is arriving in some sort of freight move ment, and the measures we hay introduced are designed to stol much of this happening," says Customs spokesman.
New powers
• In June, Customs wrote to th trade associations saying the were extending the power o seizure to HGVs caught bein sed to smuggle booze and ibacco. In the letter it states iat Customs has no wish to isrupt the business of reptable operators "who form the verwhelming bulk of transort operators".
From now on the rules are simar to those concerning the nportation of illegal immigrants. To avoid fines or seizure a haulier must be able to demonstrate that he or his driver: • Physically check that the goods on-board tie up to the paperwork; • Check the "credibility" of collection and delivery points to make sure they tie up with the sort of load being carried; • Establish that the delivery address is expecting any consignments of alcohol; • Tell Customs in advance if goods are knowingly misdescribed for security reasons or if they have any suspicions about the load.
Where Customs detect smuggled goods, or goods they suspect are being imported for resale, they will take one of the following actions: • Where the haulier can show he carried out the above steps and took all reasonable precautions, the truck carrying the goods will be restored once the illegal products have been removed arid enquiries completed: • If Customs conclude reasonable checks were not carried out, but decide the haulier or driver was not behind the smuggling, they will seize the vehicle and offer it back provided 20% of the evaded revenue is paid; • If they conclude the haulier or driver were behind the smuggling—they find a specially adapted trailer, say—they will seize the vehicle and not return it; • If goods are found anywhere in the tractive unit or cab, it will be seized and restored on payment of all the revenue evaded for a first offence; • If it happens again to the same driver the unit will be seized and kept.
Grey area
• Customs claim the checks will stop most hauliers being inadvertently used by fraudsters, but this last point about the tractive unit is key. Most small-scale smuggling is by drivers buying a bag full of cigarette cartons for resale.
The interesting point about all this is that it is very difficult for hauliers to stop drivers bringing tobacco into the country. Unlike immigrants or drugs, it is perfectly legal to bring them in. It only becomes an offence when the driver sells them on.
Bob Dovvnton, the first haulier stopped, was told his drivers were under suspicion, but when he took advice on the subtict he was told he couldn't officially warn his drivers as they had not technically done anything wrong. He has since sacked the driver in question, but asks whether it is fair for the haulier to be penalised for the driver's antics.
Both the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations say they will be monitoring the situation closely and say they want to hear from hauliers who fall foul of the regulations.
Meanwhile, it might be time to ask your drivers if they know of anyone selling cheap cigarettes, and if they do, you might want to have a word...