Baroness Harris of Richmond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Harris of Richmond on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent of cross-border smuggling between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and how many prosecutions for such smuggling have been recorded in the past five years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The government is committed to tackling the fraudulent evasion of duty. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) records statistics for excise offences in Northern Ireland by regime; hydrocarbon oil, tobacco and alcohol. It does not separate out those involving smuggling between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

By their very nature these offences can include cross border aspects and HMRC works closely with the Revenue Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland to disrupt criminal activity connected with these goods. This includes regular exchange of intelligence, joint operational activity and the gathering of evidence for use in criminal prosecutions.