RAS Blog

Category: Illicit Goods

  • Retailers concerned over increasing number of contraband seizures 

    Retailers concerned over increasing number of contraband seizures 

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) today welcome the announcement of new tobacco seizures in County Cork and Louth, however, note concern over the increasing number of contraband seizures in recent weeks. Rigorous monitoring and checks by Revenue officers are essential to combat criminal enterprises that are constantly adapting and seeking new ways of ensuring illicit tobacco products are widely available in Ireland. 

    A first capture of over 79,000 cigarettes and 57 litres of alcohol worth €63,000 in retail value took place on 16 March 2023, and equates a €50,000 estimated loss to the Exchequer. 

    Separately, on 18 March, Revenue officers seized 60,000 cigarettes, which have an estimated retail value of €47,000 representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of approximately €37,000.   

    These seizures demonstrate the significant volume and value of illicit tobacco products that are likely to enter onto the Irish market. RAS commends the work of Revenue and the ongoing efforts of customs officials to tackling the growing number of organised criminal groups and the devasting impact they have on the community.  

    Commenting, national spokesperson for RAS and Dublin based retailer, Benny Gilsenan said: “Significant seizures of tobacco products by Revenue officials in recent weeks indicate that the black- market economy is alive and well. Legitimate retailers across the country are facing unfair competition from criminal organisations exploiting the increasing demand for cheaper products in the context of the cost-of-living and energy crisis”. 

    RAS encourages anyone with information on the sale or supply of illegal cigarettes and tobacco to contact its confidential hotline. Free phone number 1800 295 295. 

  • Seizures of over 6,000kgs of tobacco at Dublin Port welcomed by Irish retailers

    Seizures of over 6,000kgs of tobacco at Dublin Port welcomed by Irish retailers

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) welcomes the announcement (23.02.23) by Revenue of the major seizure at Dublin Port of approximately 6,000kgs of tobacco and 2,400 cigarettes on the 15th February and 12.3kgs of tobacco on the 20th February, worth a combined estimated retail value of over €4.5 million, showing a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €3.5 million. This is the third seizure so far this month and is yet another first-hand indicator of an exceptionally active black market and the scale of tobacco smuggling in Ireland.

    RAS commends the ongoing work by Revenue officials in the fight against smuggling, particularly at our major points of entry through ports and airports. However, the issue of tobacco smuggling remains a huge threat for registered and legitimate tobacco retailers whose legal cigarette trade can account for 20 – 30 per cent of their business.

    RAS encourages anyone with information on the sale or supply of illegal cigarettes and tobacco to contact Revenue’s confidential hotline. Free phone number 1800 295 295.

  • Ending reductions in excise duty will increase black market activity 

    Ending reductions in excise duty will increase black market activity 

    Inflationary pressures will drive people to seek cheaper, illegal alternatives 

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) has today expressed grave concern that the phasing out of the reduced rate of excise duty on fuels will only serve to increase black market activity. The measures were announced today (Tuesday 21 February) by Government as part of its new cost-of-living package.  

    Measures agreed at Cabinet will see petrol, diesel and marked gas oil prices rising gradually between June and October. According to AA Ireland, petrol was €1.65 per litre in February or 2.5 per cent higher than January 2023 on average. The organisation contends that the reintroduction of excise duty on petrol will result in a €10 increase per tank of fuel. 

    RAS warned that a phasing-out of excise duty reductions is likely to lead to increased smuggling and laundered fuel. The representative body asserts that high inflation has provided new opportunities to criminal gangs to profit from black market operations. This contention is borne out by the fact in 2022 alone, 47,993 litres of marked fuel oil was seized by Revenue officers.  

    RAS spokesman, Benny Gilsenan, said “With inflationary pressures affecting many households, some will be incentivised to look to alternative means of acquiring fuel, which regrettably does not comply with the law. Where this has occurred in the past, RAS has observed a significant spike in cross-border smuggling. This damages legitimate businesses, local jobs and ultimately the Irish Exchequer”.  

  • Retailers’ welcome seizure of 9 million cigarettes at Dublin Port

    Retailers’ welcome seizure of 9 million cigarettes at Dublin Port

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) welcome the announcement by Revenue regarding the seizure of 9 million cigarettes at Dublin Port on Friday, 13th May. The seizure had an estimated retail value of €6.8m representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of more than €5.3m.

    This the tenth major cigarette and tobacco seizure announced by Revenue so far this year, is the largest to date. With over 16.4 million illegal cigarettes seized so far in 2022, this latest announcement by Revenue reaffirms retailer concerns of the continuation of a rapidly growing black market which Irish they are forced to compete with.

    RAS commends the ongoing work by Revenue officials in the fight against smuggling, particularly at our major points of entry through ports and airports. However, the issue of tobacco smuggling remains a huge threat for registered and legitimate tobacco retailers whose legal cigarette trade can account for 20 – 30 per cent of their business.

  • Massive spike in illicit roll your own tobacco damaging legitimate retailers

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) have expressed their outrage at the figures shown in Revenue’s Annual Report and Tobacco Products Survey 2018, released this morning (Wednesday)The figures reveal that there has been a dramatic rise in the levels of illicit and non-Irish duty paid roll your own tobacco products in the last year, along with no decrease in levels of illicit/non-Irish duty paid cigarettes.

    RAS continues to commend Revenue on the work they are doing – this year 5,339 seizures of illicit tobacco products worth €42.3 million took place. However, it is clear that there are not enough resources available to Revenue and An Garda Siochána to tackle the severity of the situation. Of the 5,339, only 16 charges were made for smuggling and 58 for selling illicit products.

    RAS spokesperson Benny Gilsenan said “Revenue work hard, but it’s becoming clear that criminals are working harder to get these products into our country. Every year RAS express our concern over the growing levels of illicit products, and every year it seems to fall on deaf ears. 67 million illicit cigarettes were seized last year, but 453 million went on to be sold illegally. The numbers are staggering.”

    Most staggering are the levels of illicit and non-Irish duty paid roll your own tobacco products on the Irish market. The number of illicit packs has jumped from 15% in 2017, to 21% in 2018. The number of non-Irish duty paid also rose from 4% to 7%. Last year RAS repeatedly voiced major concerns about the impact of the introduction of a 30g minimum roll your own pouch size in May 2017. RAS also raised concerns over raising excise duty on these pouches.

    Mr Gilsenan concluded: “RAS is calling for immediate action and proper enforcement of the current legislation to ensure those who sell illicit products are met with the full force of the law. Retailers nationwide have paid all the relevant duties and taxes and are missing out on revenue and footfall as a result. Illicit tobacco funds criminal groups and only serves to damage legitimate and responsible retailers. We are asking Minister Donohoe not to raise excise on tobacco products, in Budget 2020 until this situation is under control.”

    Revenue’s full report can be found here

  • Sale of Illicit Goods Bill 2017 To Be Debated in The Dáil Today

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) has welcomed a debate due to take place in the Dáil this evening (17.20) on Fianna Fáil’s Private Members Bill the Sale of Illicit Goods Bill 2017. The Bill, which was introduced by Fianna Fáil TD for Louth/Meath East Declan Breathnach aims to create a deterrent to purchasing smuggled goods like cigarettes, alcohol and solid fuel which undercut Irish retailers. The Bill makes it an offence to purchase such goods from an unregistered or unlicenced retailer, provides for the imposition of a penalty in respect of such offences and provides for an on-the-spot fine in respect of such offences.

     

    The Bill is a significant step in combatting smuggling into Ireland which is a growing problem. Revenue’s Tobacco Survey 2017[1] revealed that 13% of all packs of cigarettes held in Ireland are illegal – this amounts to approximately 520 million cigarettes consumed. This represents a loss to the Exchequer of €229 million in 2017 alone. Revenue’s 2017 annual report showed that it also seized 95,021 litres of illicit alcohol with an estimated value of €0.91 million.

     

    RAS spokesman, Benny Gilsenan said “The issue of smuggling has grown more apparent than ever in 2018 so the timing of this Bill is significant. We saw the discovery of a massive cigarette factory in Louth this year, as well as two fuel laundering plants. With the recent tobacco excise increase in Budget 2019 and the smoky coal ban due to be implemented next year as well as a potential hike in carbon tax, the likelihood of an increase in tobacco and fuel smuggling over the border is extremely high.”

     

    Mr Gilsenan continued “This Bill will help protect small retailers by deterring the purchase of illicit goods. This goes some way to closing the gaping holes in Irish legislation that have existed until now and we hope that all members of Dáil Eireann will support it to protect our small and medium retail sector.”

     

    While RAS welcome the legislation, we also recognise that Revenue officials and An Garda Síochána need more resources to combat smuggling in the coming years.

     

    “Brexit has created a political atmosphere that will likely make cross-border smuggling more lucrative, with a fluctuating sterling and potential tariffs. The Bill ensures that a major gap in the legislation surrounding the illicit trade is closed – the next steps are to ensure that retailers and Revenue do not lose out on yet more money to criminals,” Gilsenan continued.

  • Border retailers 70% more concerned about impact Brexit will have on smuggling and the border, compared to last year’s annual survey

    14 June 2018, Dublin

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) are launching their second annual survey at the second high-level roundtable discussion in Belfast to tackle Brexit, the Border and the Black Market. Members of the Irish Government, An Garda Síochána, the PSNI and HMRC will meet to discuss the issues that retailers on both sides of the border will face in the coming months and years.

    The cross-border survey conducted by RAS has revealed that since last year border retailers in both Ireland and Northern Ireland are almost 70% more concerned about the impact Brexit will have on smuggling and the sale of illicit goods in their communities. Responses from retailers in the counties of Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo and Louth were recorded, along with retailers across Northern Ireland. The survey results demonstrate the fact that the growing issue of smuggling over the border must remain a priority during all Brexit negotiations.

    The survey found that 3/5 retailers in Northern Ireland have noticed an increase in the trade of smuggled products in the past year, while 90% of border retailers in Ireland believe the trade of smuggled products impacts their profits by 5-10%. 43% of retailers on the North side of the border estimate this same impact to be 10-20% of their turnover.

    RAS spokesperson and Dublin based retailer Benny Gilsenan said “It’s not just the loss of revenue from missing out on the sale of a packet of cigarettes or bottle of wine. Retailers find that when a customer doesn’t buy these in their shop, they’re not buying their pint of milk, they’re not buying their sliced pan with us either. It has a huge knock on effect on small businesses, and this is seen on both sides of the border.”

    CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland Lorraine Higgins said “Greater consideration needs to be given to the challenges retailers are facing, and how Brexit will only exacerbate those difficulties. Rising excise tax has proven to be an ineffective way of dealing with the problem, we need to see the Sale of Illicit Goods Bill introduced so that progress can finally be made.”

    CEO of Retail NI Glyn Roberts said “It has become strikingly clear that more resources need to be made available to tackling the issue of smuggling in Ireland. Government needs to listen to retailers and provide the necessary supports.”

    A key driving force for the illicit trading of tobacco and alcohol is the continuously increasing level of excise duty on products.

    The survey also revealed a shocking lack of trust in the resources made available to the authorities by Government with only 1/5 retailers of the belief that the PSNI and An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to deal with smuggling and illicit trade in their area both north and south of the border. Only 1/5 border retailers believe that the authorities have adequate resources. Of the Northern Irish border retailers who have never reported trade in illicit goods in the past, 63% said they would not report illicit trading because they believed it would make little difference.

  • Retailers Against Smuggling welcome the Sale of Illicit Goods Bill as landmark step in the fight against smuggling

    3 April 2017

    Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) today welcome the introduction of the Sale of Illicit Goods Bill as a significant step in combating smuggling into Ireland – a problem that cost the exchequer as much as €2.4bn in 2015. The aim of the draft legislation is to deter people from buying illicit alcohol, solid fuel and tobacco by introducing on-the-spot fines for buying goods where taxes have not been paid.

    RAS spokesman, Benny Gilsenan, welcomed the Bill as a means of protecting small retailers: “This Bill will help protect small retailers by deterring the purchase of illicit goods. This goes some way to closing the gaping holes in Irish legislation that have existed until now.”
    While RAS welcome the draft legislation, we also recognise that Revenue officials and An Garda Síochána need more resources to combat smuggling in the coming years:

    “Brexit has created a political atmosphere that will likely make cross-border smuggling more lucrative, with a fluctuating sterling and potential tariffs. The Bill ensures that a major gap in the legislation surrounding the illicit trade is closed – the next steps are to ensure that retailers and Revenue do not lose out on yet more money to criminals,” Gilsenan continued.

    The draft legislation will be tabled in Dáil Éireann by Fianna Fáil TD for Louth/Meath East, Declan Breathnach and Robert Troy Longford/Westmeath, on 4 April. RAS would like to thank and commend Deputy Breathnach for his dedication in drafting a Bill that is important to the economy of our island during these uncertain times.