Counterfeit Cheese, Fish And Vodka: Fake Food And Drinks Are A Very Real Problem
As a consumer, we kind of expect to be tricked about what we eat or drink. How many times have you bought juice, only to later read the fine print on the packaging and see that it’s three percent juice and about 97 percent sugar, water and natural flavoring. And, of course, foods labeled “all natural” can still have far too much sugar or salt than your body needs. But you may also be consuming something that’s counterfeit. And it isn’t only consumers who are being duped. Restaurant owners, suppliers, supermarket chains – any business is at risk of being tricked into selling counterfeit foods to the public. “The topic is high on the agenda for the food associations to increase both awareness and action,” says Laura Gurski, who is steeped in experience working with retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. She is a partner and head of global practices at the management consulting firm, A.T. Kearney.
China’s appetite for bird nests leads smuggling to take flight
Beijing – With China in the grip of a harsh winter, the demand for edible bird’s nests, a delicacy known for its skin benefits, has soared and led to the rise in its smuggling. Also known as cubilose, edible bird’s nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans with China being the world’s largest consumer. However, the increased appetite has driven smuggling of the rare treat, leading to potential health hazards. In mid-September, customs police in China’s Guangdong Province seized more than 700 kilograms of edible bird’s nests produced in Indonesia, worth over 100 million yuan. If choosing a legal import channel, merchants must pay 17 per cent value-added tax, not including fees for transporting and storage. In order to make more money, merchants usually spray water or brush gelatine on the nests to increase their net weight prior to sale. But the practice can cause microbes to develop in the high-protein nests, which may lead to excessive nitrite that would fail an official health check.
Greek crisis and tax hike foster cigarette smuggling
(ANSAmed) – Naples – Consumption of smuggled cigarettes has risen by about 50% in Greece since the economic crisis began, turning the country into a large-scale importer of cigarettes as well as a black-market hub.
This emerged during the signing of an agreement between the Naples Guardia di Finanza (financial police) and British American Tobacco, during which discussion was held on the illegal market of ”Illicit Whites” cigarettes produced legally for different EU markets and which are smuggled and sold in Europe in non-compliance with EU standards and evading taxes.
A study by the economic planning and research center KEPE shows that the largest rise was in November 2010, when the government rose excise duties on them by about 300%. Greece, alongside Italy and Spain, has also become a reference point for smugglers from which to illegally export cigarettes to northern Europe, where the earnings are even higher: in the UK a packet of cigarettes costs an average of 9 euros, while in Norway it is 11. Italy’s Guardia di Finanza investigations show that criminal organizations earn enormous amounts, since they pay between 100 and 150 euros for a crate of cigarettes (20-30 cents per packet) wholesale and then sell the crate for 800-900 euros. Greece has in particular become a departure hub for cigarettes, according to the KPGM study, in containers leaving from the Piraeus and Salonika ports.
China’s counterfeiters aided by Western firms’ weak response
WENZHOU, China (AP) — An Associated Press investigation published last week uncovered systemic fraud in China’s anti-counterfeiting industry. Major multinational companies, blind to problems on the ground, unwittingly paid investigators who themselves manufactured or sold counterfeit goods. In other cases, investigators colluded with the very counterfeiters they were supposed to expose.Fraud in the anti-counterfeiting industry goes well beyond luxury fashion goods, and has impacted products that can be dangerous — including auto parts, pharmaceuticals and critical electrical components,
Many firms treat counterfeiting as a minor cost of doing business in China. Few spend the money required to tackle the powerful, hidden networks that drive China’s multibillion-dollar counterfeiting juggernaut.
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Cigarette smuggler who jumped bail gets 5 years’ jail
Singapore – A key member of a contraband cigarette smuggling syndicate has been sentenced to five years in jail for his involvement in two smuggling cases. Customs officers raided a warehouse at Loyang Crescent the following day and seized more than 2,999 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, which were hidden in modified bed headboards imported into Singapore from Batam. The duty and GST evaded amounted to more than S$309,000.
Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, those convicted of buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are liable to a fine of up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, or imprisonment for up to six years, or both.
Lear MoreAlibaba Warned by U.S. to Combat Sales of Counterfeit Products
Alibaba Holding Group Ltd. has to do a better job of fighting the sale of counterfeit goods and pirated materials on its e-commerce websites if it wishes to remain off the U.S. government’s annual “Notorious Markets List,” according to a warning Thursday from the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative. While the federal agency stopped short of putting Alibaba on the registry, it issued a stern warning that the company’s efforts to fight piracy and respond to complaints would be monitored in the coming year for signs of improvement.
The office of the trade representative called for Alibaba to simplify the process for stakeholders to lodge complaints and request enforcement action, make procedures to remove counterfeit products readily available and reduce the timelines for removing counterfeit goods and levying fines against sellers.
Smuggling, counterfeits resulted in Rs39,239 crore loss to govt in 2014
Bengaluru – Smuggling and counterfeiting of goods in India has cost an estimated loss of Rs39,239 crore to government in 2014, says a report by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), a lobby group.
The illicit market has grown 49.84% from 2012, the first time FICCI commissioned such a study, the trade body said. It covered nine industries that included alcoholic beverages, tobacco, auto components, computer hardware, packaged consumer foods, personal consumer goods, mobile phones, motion pictures and broadcasting.The maximum revenue loss, 23% of the overall loss estimated to the exchequer was in tobacco, followed by mobile phones at 17% and alcohol beverages at 16%, the study said.Due to high tax rates and complex structures in levy collection across states, a major share of the tobacco market has been taken up by fake products, said P.C. Jha, adviser to Ficci Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE), which commissioned the report. The study was conducted by Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI), a non-profit think-tank, for FICCI.
Smuggled Cigarettes Worth Over Rs 15 Lakh Seized
Meghalaya – The officers of Customs Headquarters, Preventive Unit, Shillong have seized 40 cartons of “Ruili River” brand filter cigarettes worth Rs 15.97 lakh, manufactured by Myanmar Cigarette Factory from the Booking Counter of Kamakhya Railway Station, Guwahati on December 14.The consignment was mis-declared as “damaged tobacco product”.
The smugglers of foreign cigarettes use courier agencies, railways and passenger buses to transport such contraband to different parts of the country.
As per an earlier report, Assam and Meghalaya were incurring revenue losses to the tune of Rs 700 crore every year due to illegal trade of cigarettes, which are manufactured locally as well as smuggled from neighbouring countries.Besides, it was reported that almost 23 crore illegal tax-evaded cigarette sticks are sold in these two states every month.
http://www.northeasttoday.in/smuggled-cigarettes-worth-over-rs-15-lakh-seized-meghalaya/
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Illegal tobacco on Merseyside: Buying cheap cigarettes is not a victimless crime
Tobacco smugglers are putting legitimate shops – and their workers – at risk by encouraging smokers to turn to black market cigarettes sold at a cut rate.
The shop bosses also said their staff play a part in combating underage smoking, arguing street dealers and counterfeiters do not care who they sell to. All of the products were illegal as UK taxes had not been paid on them. At least one of the products is known to have contained counterfeit tobacco.
The scale of the trade was also highlighted – with Liverpool council’s Alcohol and Tobacco Unit seizing 11 kilograms of illegal tobacco and 30,500 dodgy cigarettes in 2015 alone.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/illegal-tobacco-merseyside-buying-cheap-10611450
Lear MoreFake make-up ruined my face
Shockingly, in May, police said more than 5,000 websites selling counterfeit “luxury” goods had been shut down over an 18-month period. This makes it more important than ever for shoppers to know exactly what they’re filling their loved ones’ stockings with.
Selling fake products online is fraud and is illegal. But in recent years, there’s been a huge rise in the number of criminal gangs recreating unsafe copies of branded products. Some bogus cosmetics contain up to 19 times the legal levels of lead.
It is so dangerous, that police have issued a national alert.
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