DOJ backs Senate bill on smuggling as economic sabotage
MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice (DOJ) has thrown its support behind a Senate bill that would redefine smuggling as a form of economic sabotage and impose heavier penalties on offenders. In a letter to Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, ways and means committee chair, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she believed the measure amending Presidential Decree No. 1464, or the 1978 Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, was timely.
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A Glum Sign for Apple in China, as Smuggled iPhones Go Begging
HONG KONG — When Apple’s latest iPhones went on sale this month in Hong Kong, Singapore and New York, among the hip urbanites and tech-obsessed was another group clamoring for the devices: Chinese scalpers looking to make a premium by flipping the phones to smugglers. But the gray market for the new iPhones has already dried up, even though they will not officially go on sale in China for a few weeks, at the earliest. Wholesalers who helped orchestrate the smuggling of tens of thousands of the phones into the country are now slashing prices to move inventory. At an electronics market in central Beijing, one retailer was recently selling the low-end iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for 6,500 renminbi to 8,800 renminbi ($1,060 to $1,436), down from 12,000 renminbi to 15,000 renminbi ($1,960 to $2,450) just after the release.
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Vietnam appeases Big Tobacco with toothless taxes
Vietnam’s latest bid to raise its tobacco taxes will do little to curb consumption because it fails to hit the country’s die-hard smokers where they hurt most – their pockets, health groups say. At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly – Vietnam’s legislature – on Thursday, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung put forth a proposal to raise the excise tax on tobacco from 65 percent to 70 percent in January 2016 and 75 percent in 2019.
The finance ministry said the 2010 Global Adult Tobacco Survey found that around 15.3 million people actively smoke in Vietnam, exposing an estimated 46.8 million, mostly women and children, to secondhand smoke. Smoking caused around 40,000 deaths in Vietnam in 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, which warned that this figure could surge to 70,000 by the end of 2030 if drastic measures are not taken.
Lear MoreRomanian seizes EUR 6 mln worth of smuggled cigarettes in eight months
Romanian customs workers seized almost 49 million smuggled cigarettes worth some EUR 6 million in the first eight months of this year, said Claudiu Ardeleanu, the general manager of Romania’s General Directorate for Customs. This represented a growth of 34% year-on-year. The three main tobacco companies in Romania, the National Tax Administration ANAF and Romania’s customs recently agreed to collaborate in fighting the black market for cigarettes and cigarette smuggling.
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Counterfeit good dealers sentenced
Donald Kadondara (32), from Katlehong, appeared in court on a charge of copyright infringement.He pleaded guilty and was found guilty on September 8 and sentenced on September 11, to R3 000 or three months imprisonment.On June 18, the accused was arrested for selling 127 copied DVD’s, without the copyright holder’s consent, at an intersection in Boksburg.According to the accused he bought the DVD’s for R5 each from a man in a parking area at a shopping centre.
http://boksburgadvertiser.co.za/209663/counterfeit-good-dealers-sentenced/
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Brief: Fake iPhone 6 handsets seized in US
iPhone 6US customs have seized fraudulent iPhone 6 handsets, even before the new device has been launched onto the market.In late August, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents intercepted two iPhone 6 phones among other counterfeit devices and cell phone accessories infringing the intellectual property rights (IPR) of Apple and Samsung.
The various courier consignments inspected by CBP officers at the San Juan Air Cargo facility, revealed other fake products such as 2 Samsung Galaxy phones, and 319 iPhone cell phone panels.
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Mathematic model can guide anti-counterfeit strategy
ShoppingBrand owners often cite a lack of data about the way counterfeits penetrate the supply chain as a barrier to tackling the problem, but researchers in China are developing mathematical models to help them understand how the illicit market functions.Their research focuses not on non-deceptive counterfeits – such as a $20 Louis Vuitton bag that the purchaser clearly knows is not genuine – but rather fakes which are deceptively packaged and sold as authentic brand name products via the brand owner’s supply chain.
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GHD Hails £1m Counterfeit Seizure
Leeds-headquartered premium hair care products brand GHD has hailed the authorities after £1m worth of fake straighteners and hairdryers were seized.A spokesman for the private equity-backed business said its number one priority is to “protect GHD consumers by preventing the importation and sale of potentially dangerous counterfeit goods”.The fake appliances were removed from shops and markets in Manchester by trading standards officers.
http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/123549-/
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Nelson shop worker caught with haul of counterfeit tobacco
A SHOP worker has been ordered to carry out 150 hours community service after being caught with a haul of dodgy tobacco in Nelson.Investigators from Lancashire trading standards found 536 packets of various cigarettes, but mainly Mayfairs, without health warnings when they raided Reedyford off licence in February.
And Imran Zafar, 24, also had 115 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco, chiefly Golden Virginia, minus the health warnings. The 105 Golden Virginia pouches were also found to be counterfeit, Burnley magistrates were told.
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Ringleader of counterfeit goods outfit sentenced to 30 months in prison
A counterfeit goods ringleader has been sentenced to a total of two and a half years in prison for selling fake branded goods across London and beyond.On Tuesday 26 August, at Basildon Crown Court, Ashish Chopra was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Chahat Chopra and Tina Chopra were each given suspended prison sentences of 18 months. Tina Chopra was given 150 hours of unpaid work and Chahat Chopra was given 200 hours of unpaid work.Havering Council were first alerted to the case when Trading Standards officers seized fake branded goods including Juicy Couture, Chanel, Gucci, The White Company and Louis Vuitton at a storage centre used by the family.
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