Fake auto parts industry growing at alarming rate
The spiralling growth of Indian automobile industry has also led to an increase in the notorious counterfeiting business. Every year, the country bears a taxation loss of approximately Rs 2700 crore as spurious parts make Rs 11,000 crore of the Rs 40,000 crore Indian auto component market. Despite government checks, this parallel illegal industry is growing at an alarmingly pace. according to a recent study by FICCI “Illicit Market: A Threat to Our National Interest” the gray market has a substantial presence in auto and has also shown a big increase from 29.6 per cent in 2010 to 33.7 per cent in 2012, which is highest among major industries. The loss to the industry on account of this gray market is estimated to be Rs 10,501 crore in 2014, up from Rs 9,198 crore in 2012. The total loss to the government estimated for 2014 on account of illicit markets in the auto components industry is Rs 3,113 crore, up from Rs. 2,726 crore in 2012. This loss is only on account of tax revenues.
Lear MoreName and shame smugglers, consumer group urges Customs
After alleged drug personalities, consumer watchdog United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) now wants government to name and shame smugglers.The group in particular wants the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to release a list of cement smugglers, saying these illicit traders do not only rob the government of millions in revenue but also endanger the lives of Filipinos.
UFCC said total under-declaration of imported cement from January to April this year alone has reached over P200 million.
http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/08/18/1614494/name-and-shame-smugglers-consumer-group-urges-customs
Tax dodging shopkeeper fails in bid to get free from jail
Dewsbury shopkeeper who was jailed after he dodged £80,000 tax by selling fake branded cigarettes and tobacco has lost a Court of Appeal bid for freedom.
Arkan Rashid Ahmad, 36, was caught out by an undercover trading standards operation targeting his Global Groceries shop in the town in 2014.
It found he had sold vast quantities of counterfeit tobacco products and evaded huge sums in duty owed to the taxman.
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/tax-dodging-shopkeeper-fails-bid-11756813
Lear MoreCambodian Arrested for Smuggling Fake Smokes to Thailand
A Cambodian woman was arrested on Monday for smuggling counterfeit Thai cigarettes worth about six million baht (about $190,000) into Thailand after tripping a border alarm in Sa Kaew province, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday. The woman was named as 54-year-old Wi Raya and the report said 18 boxes containing 9,000 packs of cigarettes falsely packaged as Thai brands, such as KrongThip, Failing Rain and Wonder, were found abandoned in the area.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/28574/cambodian-arrested-for-smuggling-fake-smokes-to-thailand/
Lear MorePopping Down to the Shops and Into Australia’s Booming Tobacco Black Market
As of September 1, 2016 the tobacco tax is set to increase again. Next month’s surge is expected to raise ciggie prices by between $1.30 to $3.35 per pack, depending on size. Then between 2017 and 2020 there will likely be a steady tax rise of 12.5 percent each year.
Some have argued the rise in cigarette prices will lead to more people quitting. Others contend the price hike will add strength to an already booming tobacco black market and lead to an increase in tobacco related criminal activities. Around 14 percent of the total tobacco consumed in Australia is black market, in total about 2.4 million kilograms per year smuggled in from overseas. That means the government is left with a $1.4 billion-sized hole—lost revenue from untaxed product.
SON Decries Fake Products Imports
The Standard Organisationof Nigeria (SON), a regulatory body superintending the prevention of importation of substandard goods into the country, has decried the continuous importation of such goods into Nigeria.
In a statement on Monday, the Acting Director General, SON, Dr Paul Angya, said that the country has not done what it needs to do to prevent dumping of substandard products, especially from China into Nigeria.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2016/08/17/son-decries-fake-products-imports/
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Cambodian arrested smuggling fake Thai cigarettes
A Cambodian woman has been arrested for smuggling counterfeit Thai cigarettes worth about six million baht into Thailand after tripping a border alarm in Khlong Hat district. Paramilitary rangers rushed. She was identified as Wi Raya, 54, a Cambodian national. A total of 18 boxes containing 9,000 packs of cigarettes falsely packaged as Thai brands – KrongThip, Failing Rain and Wonder, were found abandoned.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1063025/cambodian-arrested-smuggling-fake-thai-cigarettes
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Shopkeepers given 200 hours unpaid work after fake tobacco worth £80,500 on sale
Two shopkeepers from Nottingham have each been given a 12 week sentence, suspended for 24 months, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £711 in costs. This comes following the two men admitting having more than £80,000 worth of counterfeit and illicit tobacco for sale in their premises.
Lear MoreOver £80,000 Worth of Fake Tobacco on Sale in Two Nottingham Shops
Adnan Mohamed (29) of Dryden Street, Nottingham, who runs the Biedronka shop on Berridge Road, and Bahman Karimi,(25), of Norton Street, Nottingham, who runs Alma on Radford Road, both pleaded guilty to possessing and offering for sale illicit and counterfeit cigarettes. Karimi also admitted selling counterfeit tobacco to an underage person following a test purchase conducted by Nottingham City Trading Standards.
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One in ten cigarettes contraband, say Southampton researchers at BAT
A report commissioned by tobacco firms including BAT, still one of Southampton’s largest employers, has found that 16 per cent of cigarettes consumed in this country are either contraband or counterfeit (C&C).
As an earlier Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) report On Tap stated, organised criminals see the illegal tobacco trade as “low-risk, high-reward crime”. The overall volume of illegal cigarettes consumed in the UK during 2015 increased by more than six per cent to 6.7 billion cigarettes – the second highest increase in the EU according to the report compiled by accountancy firm KPMG.
If these black market cigarettes had been consumed legally it would have raised an additional tax revenue of 2.8 billion Euros (£2.2 billion) in the UK. Across the EU the loss of tax revenue amounted to 1.3 billion Euros.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/14681057.One_in_ten_cigarettes_contraband__say_city_researchers/
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