Now that's what I call a result
Thursday, April 24, 2008 In 2000 Forest kick-started what proved to be a successful campaign on cross-Channel shopping. At the time we were inundated with calls from aggrieved smokers who had had their tobacco, and sometimes their cars, siezed by Customs officials as part of the clampdown on smuggling.
Of course, there was plenty of smuggling going on - even students and OAPs were getting in on the act - but lots of innocent people were being harassed, quite unnecesarily. The guideline, then, was a paltry 800 cigarettes (compared with 90 litres of wine). It wasn't illegal to bring back more - you just had to prove they were for your own personal use.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, we helped one chap challenge Customs in court (by finding him a solicitor and barrister and paying his legal costs, around £5,000) and that led, eventually, to the government increasing the guideline to 3,200 cigarettes in, I think, 2002.
Smuggling is still rife (thanks to the high rate of tobacco taxation in this country) but as far as legitimate cross-Channel shopping is concerned, law-abiding smokers seem OK with the current guideline and it's no longer the major issue that it once was.
Incidents do still occur, however, and I'm pleased to say that, for once, I can report a happy ending. On Monday we took a call from a guy in Wales. He explained that Customs in Portsmouth had confiscated the 3,100 cigarettes he had brought into the country.
He decided to appeal and sought our opinion. (For legal reasons we don't offer "advice" - you need a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau for that.) He told me that he smokes 25 cigarettes a day and we suggested that to prove it he needed evidence (receipts or credit card statements) of previous purchases. Needless to say, he didn't have any. After all, most people pay for tobacco with cash and don't keep the receipt.
Another tack, we suggested, was to ask friends, family or employer to write letters confirming that he smokes as much as he says. (We also suggested that he ask his doctor to write a letter but he hasn't seen his doctor in years - he hasn't needed to!)
On Tuesday, armed with several letters, he returned to Portsmouth for a meeting with Customs. Last night he called to say that his cigarettes (worth over £400) had been returned to him "and they even helped re-pack my case!".
Needless to say their generosity didn't extend to refunding his travel costs (£60) but, in this day and age, I consider that a result.
PS. We can't promise this outcome every time so buyer beware.
Reader Comments (8)
Maybe I am wrong, but I understood that although 3,200 was the guideline, if you purchased cigarettes in an EU country and paid EU tax, then you could bring back as many as you wanted, so long as they were for your own use.
For several years now both my husband and myself go abroad, on holiday, twice a year and bring back in the region of 60 to 70 cartons of 200 which is for both of us. We were stopped once at Birmingham on our way home from Alicante and we had around 60 cartons of cigs, but because we tend to buy only one or 2 brands and these tend not to be the typical UK available brands, we had no problem at all. At that time I think we had John Player Red and American Jeans and one carton of Embassy No1 as a gift for a friend.
I would be interested however to know if we are breaking the law (ass that it is) by doing this.
Lyn, see Travelling to the UK from the European Union.
I go over every three or four months, which seems acceptable by customs. I know that some used to go over every few weeks and customs did confiscate their tobacco etc. Sometimes customs have told these people that they don't want to see them for at least three months.
When going by coach (probably the same with cars) customs look at the travel list and are on the look out for those going over too often.
If customs want to confiscate a car and the owner thinks that the car is worth more than the tax due on the tobacco, then I believe the owner has the right to pay the tax and keep the car and tobacco.
I've known many non-smokers bringing back their full quota and making several hundred pounds profit.
Is the limit still 200 if you're travelling outside of the EU? I'm off to Mexico soon, and am thinking of bringing back a lot more than 200... if they find me with more, can i just pay tax on them and be done with it, or will they keep my precious snouts?
Rob, see see Travelling to the UK from outside the European Union.
Rob, if you're going to Mexico, why mess around bringing cigarettes home?
I am pretty sure that you will be able to get some really good Cuban cigars there at a quarter of the price you'd pay here.
Worth checking out....
Rob, I'm afarid it is still 200 for a non EU Country. As for topic in hand. Yes Lyn, in theory, you can bring back as many as you want, the guidline however, is there to prevent smuggling. For example, if a guy has two large suitcases full of cigarettes, made up of six different brands, it would be difficult to persuade the customs officer that they were for his own use. I think if you go over the recommended amount, or even if you are within it, it is advisable to not have too many different brands, and to keep the receipts.
"Needless to say...in this day and age...I consider that a result."
I'm making a point of being on guard against being thankful for small mercies wrt smoking. Each encroachment becomes the norm until smokers will one day be grateful not to be assaulted for being seen smoking.
I recently listened to an interviewee on a discussion panel on "Woman's Hour" state that she would consider it her duty to accost a pregnant woman who was smoking to advise her of the harm she was doing to her unborn baby. There were only very faint murmurings of objection by the other panellists