{"id":664,"date":"2026-01-28T13:32:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T13:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/?p=664"},"modified":"2026-01-28T13:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T13:32:37","slug":"ras-warns-that-removal-of-airport-passenger-cap-will-fuel-illicit-tobacco-smuggling-checkout-ie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/ras-warns-that-removal-of-airport-passenger-cap-will-fuel-illicit-tobacco-smuggling-checkout-ie\/","title":{"rendered":"RAS Warns That Removal Of Airport Passenger Cap Will Fuel Illicit Tobacco-Smuggling | Checkout.ie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS)<\/a> has warned that when the Dublin Airport<\/a> passenger cap is removed later this year, tobacco-smuggling will increase, unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group expressed disappointment at the latest headline figures from the Revenue Commissioners<\/a>, which show a sharp decline in both the volume and value of cigarette<\/a> and tobacco seizures in 2025, compared to 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revenue\u2019s Illegal Tobacco Product Research Surveys 2024 <\/em>found that over one third (37%) of cigarette packs in circulation carried no Irish excise duty, either because they were illegally purchased or purchased outside the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marks an increase from the 34% recorded in 2023, with figures including roll-your-own tobacco, for total estimated tax losses from tobacco products reaching \u20ac934 million in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also includes findings that cigarette seizure volumes plummeted by 58% \u2013 dropping from 112 million cigarettes to only 47 million \u2013 and the value of cigarette seizures fell by 55% \u2013 from approximately \u20ac96 million in 2024 to \u20ac43 million in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, Revenue reported that it seized \u20ac63 million worth of illegal tobacco products in 2025 \u2013 a 51% year-on-year decrease compared to 2024, when it seized a record \u20ac128 million worth of tobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2024 seizure value mirrors levels seen in 2023, when they totalled \u20ac63 million, indicating a return to pre-2024 enforcement outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that seizures are barely scratching the surface of smuggled tobacco products entering Ireland, with comparisons based on Revenue\u2019s Headline Results<\/em> publications for 2023, 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Problem Is Worsening\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

RAS spokesperson Barry Gilsenan<\/a> said, \u201cThe value of seizures is nowhere near reflective of reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmuggled tobacco continues to flood Ireland\u2019s black market, and the problem is worsening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new duty-free regulations alone are not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRevenue enforcement officers need to conduct more checks at ports and airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost critically, Revenue needs to hire more enforcement officers to match the growth in passenger arrivals in Ireland\u2019s airports and ports, which are up 25% and 1.2%, respectively, from 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can reasonably expect passenger figures to increase in 2025 and 2026, and duty-free purchases to skyrocket, as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is set to be removed this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout stronger enforcement, illicit tobacco sales will continue to soar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAS has called for increased resources to combat the growing illicit tobacco market, while warning that a focus on large-scale seizures must be matched by more routine passenger searches at ports and airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inadequate checks and enforcement mean passengers can arrive with substantial quantities of non-duty paid cigarettes, which are subsequently sold illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group notes that this undermines legitimate retailers and deprives the Exchequer<\/a> of vital tax revenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) has warned that when the Dublin Airport passenger cap is removed later this year, tobacco-smuggling will increase, unchecked. The group expressed disappointment at the latest headline figures from the Revenue Commissioners, which show a sharp decline in both the volume and value of cigarette and tobacco seizures in 2025, compared to 2024. Revenue\u2019s Illegal Tobacco Product Research Surveys […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":666,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664\/revisions\/666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.retailersagainstsmuggling.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}