Tackling tobacco smuggling: building on our success
This renewed strategy from HMRC and the UK Border Agency shows our continued commitment to tackling tobacco fraud.
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Tobacco fraud costs taxpayers over £2 billion a year. This deprives the general public of revenue to fund vital public services that support us all.
This renewed strategy shows how HMRC and the UK Border Agency are working together to target, tackle and punish offenders. In particular the strategy addresses:
- targeting and disrupting the organised criminal gangs behind the fraud
- seizing greater volumes of illicit product
- taking hard hitting action against offenders
- reducing the availability of genuine tobacco products for fraud
- reducing demand for illicit tobacco products
- working together with overseas partners and international organisations
This strategy builds on the success of our work to date, which has seen the size of the illicit cigarette market cut by almost half.