TOBCSC7350 - Initial Notices: Template for Initial Notice

Precedent Initial Notice

[To be issued on HMRC Headed Paper]

Mr XX

[Name of TM]

Date: [25 August 2017]

Dear Sir/Madam [This should only be used where you don’t know the name of the person/ gender of the person you are writing to or if you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to but know the gender]

Section 7B Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 (“TPDA”)

Penalty for facilitating smuggling: initial notice

We wrote to you on [insert date] and met with you on [insert date] about your duty not to facilitate smuggling of cigarettes/hand-rolling tobacco (“HRT”) into the UK (as set out in section 7A(1) TPDA). This letter is a formal initial notice under section 7B(1) TPDA to inform you that we are considering whether to issue you a penalty. The background and details of the reasons for the issue of this initial notice are set out below.

All references to legislation below are to the TPDA unless otherwise indicated.

Background

A manufacturer of cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco (HRT) shall so far as is reasonably practicable avoid –

supplying cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the United Kingdom
avoid supplying tobacco products where the nature or circumstances of the supply make it likely that they will be re-supplied to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK
avoid otherwise helping smuggling of tobacco products into the UKThe legislation facilitates the sharing of information between us and you in relation to:

(i) supply chains both in the UK and to countries/specific places outside the UK;

(ii) seized cigarettes/HRT; and

(iii) particular areas of risk for the purposes of providing a better understanding and early identification of smuggling risks in relation to cigarettes/HRT.

The duty in section 7A(1) and matters we are required to consider in issuing an initial notice under section 7B

The TPDA and the Tobacco Products Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/1712, as amended by S.I. 2006/2368 (the “TPR 2001”) impose specific requirements on TMs. We are responsible for ensuring that you comply with your duty under section 7A(1) and currently we do not believe that you have met these obligations. We have also considered whether there is any reasonable excuse for what appear to us to be your failure to discharge your statutory duty and have concluded that there is no such excuse.

Section 7B requires us to consider a range of factors when deciding whether to issue an initial notice. The purpose of this initial notice is to act as a warning to allow you to take corrective action during the warning period. To help you to understand why an initial notice has been issued, the areas of serious concern (including the evidence which demonstrates that the concern is justified) are set out in detail below.

Section 7B(2)(a) & (b) – content of, and compliance with, your written policy of steps taken to ensure compliance with section 7A(1)

[Drafting Note: set out the reasons why we consider the written policy to be defective.].

[Drafting Note: Use terminology and language that relates directly to previous discussions with the TM. Provide the evidence to support your conclusions and footnote the source of the evidence where appropriate]