Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) was established in June 2009 to specifically represent the rights of tobacco retailers in Ireland in the fight against illicit trade of cigarettes.
The goal of RAS is to generate wide scale awareness on the issue of tobacco smuggling in Ireland, its cost to retailers, how it is affecting their local economy and how legitimate retailers are being disadvantaged, compared to illicit traders.
As we are a year in existence, it was decided that we would form a new agenda, a charter of activities that would act as the basis of our goals for the next 12 months. The following five points are what we believe are the best way to curb the growth of illegal trading throughout the country.
The sale of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes at markets
- Markets that are illegally trading products, such as tobacco, are having an increasingly negative affect on the Irish economy and retailer. There has been a massive growth of sales of counterfeit and contraband cigarettes at a select number of markets across the country. A select group of trade, farmers’ market, milk markets and other markets across the country have criminals, on a weekly basis, selling cigarettes for as little as €4 for packet of 20. The general public must be made aware of the illegal selling that takes place at markets. There also needs to be a stronger presence by Gardaí to tackle these markets while, running concurrently, the judiciary of Ireland must hand out sentences that will deter criminals. Enforcement of existing legislation with regard to smugglers and illegal traders would be enough to help clampdown on the growth of black markets.
Restricting Social Welfare Benefits for Smugglers
- In certain instances smugglers and illegal sellers are either on the live register or profiting from social benefit. To successfully tackle these smugglers, Retailers Against Smuggling will target the avenues available to hamstring these smugglers. This will involve Retailers Against Smuggling calling on the Department of Social Protection to investigate cases of smugglers to see if they are also claiming social welfare.
Further investment to be made for the provision of scanners and detection
- It was partly due to our lobbying in 2009 that the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD, invested almost €3 million of Exchequer funds in the detection of smuggled goods at ports with the purchase of the country’s second mobile scanner. While this is a step in the right direction, it is still only a drop in the ocean with regards to a full clampdown of contraband and counterfeit tobacco being smuggled into the country. Further investment is crucial in stopping contraband cigarettes entering the country at source. This is the one area that continuous lobby and media pressure must be applied to continue to make known the fact that our island nation is under resourced as it currently is with the regards to detection of smuggled goods.
EU Laws – An introduction of a VRT system for importing tobacco
- In March, Revenue Commissioners Chairman, Josephine Feehily, announced during an appearance before an Oireachtas Committee that there were no specific guidelines as to how much cigarettes and alcohol a person was entitled to bring into the country. This leads to ambiguity and also a loophole for people to carry in as much tobacco within reason. This requires Retailers Against Smuggling to investigate deeper, with the aid of legal advice, the possibility of introducing a law where the amount of tobacco could be capped so as to discourage smuggling and finally give strict guidelines as to the amount of goods a person can carry into the country.
- An alternative to this plan would be the introduction of a VRT style tax on tobacco. This, again, would require a certain amount of legal direction but the overall aim of the action would be to enforce on tax on a person who brought tobacco into Ireland. Regardless of where the tobacco was purchased, travelers to Ireland would be forced to pay a second tax on the goods being brought in. The result of this would be scaling down of people travelling abroad and bringing home large amounts cigarettes for not only their consumption. This is a plan that must be continued in the long term and cannot be achieved in a short period of time.
Special Garda Taskforce
The ultimate aim of our campaign is to get greater support from An Gardaí Siochana in relation to tackling the criminal element of tobacco smuggling. While there is a large aspect of travellers and holiday makers legally carrying tobacco into the country, it is imperative to continue the fight against the large-scale criminal aspect of smuggling. At present An Gardaí Síochana have an ad hoc approach to tobacco smuggling. We need a special Garda Taskforce made available to tackle the problem nationally as opposed to individual Garda stations patrolling smuggling on a regional basis. It is only through further highlighting of the effect of how the criminals are gaining the upper hand over the state and, more in particular, the Irish retailer that we can achieve our goal of an overall clampdown of black market trading. The success of this, however, rests with the ability to have a greater presence, at all times, by the Gardaí.
Retailers Against Smuggling is funded and supported by:
- Applegreen
- Barry Group
- BWG Foods Limited
- Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA)
- DHL
- Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee (ITMAC)
- Londis
- Musgraves
- National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN)
- Nightline
- RGDATA
- Stonehouse
- Small Firms Association
- Topaz
