The
Alcohol law
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3266851.stm
Thursday, 13 November, 2003, 12:43 GMT
The UK's Customs and Excise takes an over-zealous attitude to people
bringing back booze from the continent, according to the European
Commission.
The Commission and ferry companies have been angered by Customs
seizing the vehicles of "booze cruisers" accused of minor
infringements.
Jonathan Todd European Commission spokesman said Customs confiscation
of cars was "disproportionate".
The government said Customs and Excise was acting within UK and
EU law.
Forbidden
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Todd highlighted the harsh treatment meted
out to booze cruisers bringing alcohol back from the continent for
friends.
Our approach has been tested and backed by the British courts...
only after the third offence will we seize and hold cars
John Healy MP
Under UK law alcohol and cigarettes brought back from the continent
are meant for personal use. Any resale, even to friends and family,
is forbidden.
Breaking the law can result in people having their goods confiscated
or having to pay a fine.
In some cases people who have been accused of smuggling have had
their cars impounded and even crushed.
"We think it is disproportionate if, for example, the person
after they have paid a fine has their cars confiscated," Mr
Todd said.
But the government minister responsible for Customs and Excise,
John Healy MP, accused the European Commission of courting publicity
in the run-up to Christmas - a time when booze cruising reaches
its height.
"We get used to them raising these issues in the run up to
Christmas and getting a day of good publicity," Mr Healy said.
"Our approach has been tested and backed by the British courts.
Only after the third offence will we seize and hold cars."
In August, ferry company Hoverspeed announced plans to sue Customs
and Excise for up to £30m, accusing it of putting people off crossing
the Channel.
At the time a Hoverspeed spokesman told the BBC the firm was acting
to protect the rights of the travelling public.
It said the campaign against alcohol and tobacco smuggling has
targeted too many people on innocent shopping trips.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2403437.stm
Tuesday, 5 November, 2002, 11:07 GMT
We're all going on a 'booze-cruise' holiday
Even Coronation St has set a spin-off in Calais
Megan Lane
BBC News Online
More booze-cruisers than ever are expected to cross the Channel
to stock up on cheap cigarettes and alcohol this festive season.
The cross-Channel shopping trip - be it in a hired white van, well-laden
car or ferry - has long been a British institution.
And as the nights draw in, thoughts turn to Christmas and New Year
parties - and how to quench those festive thirsts without breaking
the bank.
Other bargains besides booze are to be had
In the past decade, the strong pound, pleasing price tags (for excise
duty is far lower in Europe), and generous allowances for personal
use have encouraged many a bargain-hunter to make a day of it in
France or Belgium.
Calais has responded with gusto, opening up vast emporia of cheap
fags 'n' booze within easy reach of the ferry terminals and the
Channel tunnel. The ferry companies too, offer myriad deals to on-board
shoppers.
What can I bring in?
As much as you like for personal use
But may stop anyone with:
3,200+ cigarettes
90 litres+ wine
10 litres+ spirits
110 litres+ beer
And now Britons will be able to bring back four times as much tobacco
without risking customs officials' attention. Under new guidelines
issued by the Treasury, instead of 800 cigarettes, travellers can
now bring back 3,200 - enough to supply the average smoker for six
months.
Thus Hoverspeed is expecting record numbers for the festive season
this year, according to a company spokesman.
"With half-term over, the pre-Christmas rush has now started.
It's going to be boom-time over the next six or seven weeks."
Stretch the pension
Fredrick Patten, of Enfield in north London, is one of four retired
friends who take the ferry to Calais every six weeks to stock up.
Expect queues this festive season
"I go for the company and the day out as much as the shopping
- and if you drink or smoke, it's a big saving as everything is
half the price.
"I usually buy a bottle of brandy, some Baileys, maybe some
vodka or Martini, and a couple of decent bottles of wine. I don't
smoke myself but I always pick up £50 worth of cigarettes for my
daughter-in-law's father."
Mr Patten says he has never had any problem with customs officers:
"That's possibly because we always walk on, walk off. There's
only so much you can carry."
'It's our right'
In another remarkable turn-around, the Government also announced
that no longer will the shopper have to prove that such a stash
is for personal use - instead Customs will have to show that the
items are for resale.
The French rarely venture into Calais booze barns
The moves came after pressure to go easy on bargain hunters while
cracking down on smugglers.
Cross-Channel smuggling has boomed for much the same reasons as
legitimate shopping. In 2001 more than one-fifth of all cigarettes
sold in the UK were black market, amounting to more than £3.5bn
a year in lost taxes. The cut-price beer arriving from across the
Channel each day is said to equal the weekly sales of 1,000 pubs.
Last August, a group of day-trippers sponsored by Hoverspeed won
a test case against HM Customs and Excise over the seizure of their
goods in a random search.
How much for cigs?
£4.50 a pack in UK
Barely half that in Europe
17bn cigarettes smuggled in a year
The High Court criticised the service for its "draconian"
tactics - a ruling it is appealing against on Tuesday.
The day-trippers are not alone in their complaints. In the past
two years, about 20,000 cars have been seized. Shoppers have complained
of steep fines, of intrusive questioning. One told how Customs seized
his hugely valuable wine collection - only to tip the lot down the
drain.
Just how full can you fill that trolley?
The Sun newspaper, which has campaigned vigorously for Customs to
lay off booze-cruisers, claimed victory after the Treasury climb-down.
And it seems as if they have an unlikely ally in the European Commission,
whose normally vilified bureaucrats have complained that the UK
could be in breach of the EU's single market rules; Britain has
until 23 November to prove its commitment to consumers' rights.
Yes, consumer rights. For cross-border shopping is regarded not
as tax evasion but as a fundamental right by the EU.
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