WA cigarette smuggling could increase under Inslee tax
Nearly one-third of Washington’s potential cigarette tax revenues were lost to smuggling or tax evasion in the 2013 fiscal year, according to estimates by the state Department of Revenue. Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing to increase the state’s cigarette taxes by 50 cents per pack. Washington state has steadily raised its cigarette taxes in the last 20 years as a means to both curb smoking and raise revenue.At the same time, though, something else has gone up: The rate at which people evade the tax by buying cigarettes out of state or online.Nearly one-third of Washington’s potential cigarette tax revenues were lost to smuggling or tax evasion in the 2013 fiscal year, according to estimates by the state Department of Revenue.
Lear MoreCourt Remands Man In Prison For Counterfeiting Alomo Bitters
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday remanded a Lagos based businessman, Akintunde Smith in prison custody for counterfeiting Alomo Bitters. The judge have the order after Akintunde was arraigned by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC) on a three count charge of manufacturing processed food without registration.
The suspect, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, was not represented by a lawyer in court.
Lear MoreChinese government pledges to step up crackdown on selling fake goods online
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has pledged to intensify the crackdown on the sales of fake products online in China.The remarks by the regulator’s head, Zhang Mao, came after a high-profile spat between the government body and the e-commerce giant Alibaba earlier this year.“Market order can only be regulated if we increase the penalties for selling fake goods, making traders who sell such goods unable to continue operations, or go bankrupt,” Zhang said during a press briefing at the National People’s Congress in Beijing today.
Man admitts raft of illegal tobacco, alcohol and fake DVD offences in Cornwall
A man has been fined and handed a suspended sentance over fake Muppets movies, illegal tobacco and booze. Ian James Whipp, 59 of Minorca Lane, Bugle Cornwall, was sentenced on Friday 6 March in relation to a total of nine offences covering the sale of illegal tobacco, counterfeit DVD’s and the unlicensed sale of alcohol.Whipp, who pleaded guilty, had been caught in possession of 80 pouches of Cutters Choice hand rolling tobacco, which had been illegally imported for sale into the UK and 12 packets of PЭCT (pronounced Fest) a brand produced exclusively for the illicit market.
Police bust cigarette smuggling ring
Customs officials in the city of Graz have arrested five cigarette smugglers responsible for smuggling about 1.3 million cigarettes from Serbia to Austria.Investigators first caught their trail when a car with a Croatian number plate was pulled over during a routine inspection in Spielfeld in Styria in November 2014, where over 60,000 cigarettes of foreign origin were found in custom-made cavities in the vehicle.
http://www.thelocal.at/20150306/police-bust-international-cigarette-smuggling-ring
Lear MoreAustrian customs officials bust int’l cigarette smuggling ring
Investigators from the Customs Office in the city of Graz on Wednesday arrested five cigarette smugglers who have smuggled about 1.3 million cigarettes from Serbia to Austria.Investigators first caught their trail when a car was pulled over during a routine inspection in Spielfeld in the state of Styria in November 2014, where over 60,000 cigarettes of foreign origin were found in custom-made cavities in the vehicle.The Customs Office stated in a press release Wednesday that the five suspects were from Hungary, Austria and Serbia, aged between 35 and 50.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/910330.shtml
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Israel’s Shin Bet, Tax Authority Foil Arms Smuggling Into Gaza
Customs agents working with the Shin Bet security agency have thwarted four attempts in recent months to smuggle weapons components into Gaza through the Nitzana border crossing in southern Israel, the Israeli Tax Authority said Monday.
According to a statement posted on the Tax Authority’s website, banned products of various kinds, including components needed for the production of weapons, were seized at the Israel-Egypt border crossing four times over the past few months.
Weight-loss supplement laced with Prozac ‘a fake’
FDA building signA weight-loss supplement sold by USPlabs was found to contain the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s antidepressant Prozac, according to the FDA, although the manufacturer disputes the claim.The US regulator issued an alert late last month after it emerged that samples of OxyElite Pro Super Thermogenic (OEP) were found on analysis to contain fluoxetine. USPlabs is claiming that the product tested was however counterfeit.
One in three people who order designer products online receive a fake – prompting retailers to advise customers how to spot counterfeit items
A third of Americans have purchased designer goods online which have turned out to be fakes.
According to new research by fashion retailer Crossroads Trading, which surveyed 1,000 adults, one in three people who had ordered a designer item online were left furious when a counterfeit product arrived on their doorstep.
Almost half of those participants said the fake item was of poor quality, while 43 per cent said it looked nothing like the original picture.
RM2.4 bil revenue lost due to cigarette, liquor smuggling
The country loses about RM1.9 billion in revenue annually as a result of cigarette smuggling activities and another RM500 million on revenue from unpaid duty for smuggled liquor.