Border Force seize £36,000 of tobacco in Hull

“Stopping illegal immigrants, drugs and guns is hard work and very expensive - even though we the taxpayer pay billions and I mean billions in real terms putting up with it all. Nahh stuff that ..

Is it a case of improving your success statistics by cracking down on 'easy' crime like baccy and get a bonus for achieving a pointless target....

If I was PM I'd give HM Customs and the UK Border Force a bigger bonus for stopping illegals, drugs and guns than baccy but I'm just an oik who works for a living and pays taxes...

Aye thankyou...”

“there more interested in bakki runs than illegal immigrants”

“The UK has a border force?”

“So if the total haul was 200kg of tobacco, the excise tax being avoided was £164.11 per kg x 200 = £32,822. Figures from HMRC, the agency who will gladly do deals with the likes of Goldman Sach and Vodafone to the tune of millions.
Their website is confusing on the relaxed EU laws. This directly copy and pasted;

Arrivals from EU countries
When arriving into the UK from an EU country you can bring in an unlimited amount of most goods.

For excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco, there are no restrictions. However you must meet the conditions below:

•You transport the goods yourself.
•The goods are for your own use or as a gift. If the person you give the goods to pays you in any way - including reimbursing you for any expenses or payment in kind - then it's not a gift and the goods may be seized.
•The goods are duty and tax paid in the EU country where they were acquired.
If you don't meet these conditions, the goods and any vehicle that transported them, may be seized.

No wonder we're in a mess with such a messed up tax system! Perhaps border patrol could be doing something more productive on our borders like stopping illegal immigrants, drugs and guns!”

“chain smokers comes to mind”

“When travelling from the EU* to the UK you can bring in an unlimited amount of most goods you have bought in another EU country without paying tax or duty as long as tax was included in the price when you purchased the items, the items are for your own use, and have been transported to the UK by you.

Although there are no limits on the amount of alcohol and tobacco you can bring in from the EU, a Customs Officer is more likely to ask about the purposes for which you hold the goods if you bring large quantities of them. This will most likely be the case if you appear with more than:

800 cigarettes, or 400 cigarillos, or 200 cigars, or 1 kg of smoking tobacco
110 litres of beer
10 litres of spirits
90 litres of wine
20 litres of fortified wine e.g. port or sherry”

“they took 8 packs from me and it was for my own use.i even payed tax on it in ostend.i must say the have some right geeks working for them”