Buyers beware as TD aims for law change
LOUTH TD DECLAN BREATHNACH IS TO BRING A BILL BEFORE THE DAIL THAT WOULD MAKE IT AN OFFENCE FOR A PERSON TO BUY ILLICIT GOODS. ANNE CAMPBELL FINDS OUT ABOUT THE NEW PROPOSALS.
BORDER retailers know all about the cost of the black economy. From illicit alcohol to counterfeit cigarettes to the relatively new phenomenon of solid fuel, smuggling continues. And as government agencies on both sides of the border struggle to keep on top of it, Louth TD Declan Breathnach is this week bringing forward legislation that aims to target those who buy illicit goods.
One of the key measures proposed under Mr Breathnach’s Sale of Illicit Goods Bill, that is due to be put before Leinster House today (Tuesday), is to make it an offence for a person to buy illicit alcohol, illicit tobacco or illicit solid fuel.
The bill also makes it an offence for a person to buy alcohol, tobacco or solid fuel from an unregistered retailer.
In addition, this bill, which is supported by the more than 3,000 members of the Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) organisation, introduces an on-the-spot fine of €100 which will be imposed where a person buys alcohol, tobacco or solid fuel which is illicit, or where a person buys alcohol, tobacco or solid fuel from a retailer who is not registered or licensed.
Mr Breathnach said: ‘I am sponsoring this bill on behalf of Retailers Against Smuggling, a 3,000 retailersassociation that looks to raise awareness and bring to the fore issues that directly impact retailers specifically relating to smuggling and the black market.
‘ The bill will introduce an on-thespot fine for those who purchase illicit alcohol, tobacco and solid fuel where tax has not been paid or where the product has not been purchased from a legitimate and registered retailer.
‘ This propisal is about affecting consumer behaviour by getting those to realise that purchasing the cheaper illicit products is illegal and hopefully it will deter people from doing it, in turn cutting the supply of profit to criminal gangs in our cities and along the border’.
These are proposals Mr Breathnach has been working on for some time. Recently, he met with retailers in Dublin to hear first hand how illicit trading is affecting their business.
He said: ‘ Tobacco sales are a large part of the business of many small shops. Government excise duties have increased the cost of a 20 pack of cigarettes to an all-time high. This in turn has turned customers towards illegal traders who are selling illegal, and sometimes unsafe, products at a much lower price’.
And it’s not just cigarettes and alcohol that are being smuggled. Solid fuels are too. The introduction of the carbon tax in the Finance Act 2010 has had the direct effect of increasing prices for fuel products throughout Ireland.
Mr Breathnach said: ‘As a consequence the growth of illicit trade in solid fuel products such as coal, peat briquettes and sod peat has been evident, particularly in border regions.
‘ This is not a victimless crime. The Hardware Association of Ireland are greatly concerned. To understand the scale of the problem, they have provided an example as follows: a standard truck carrying 20 tonnes of coal from Northern Ireland to the South without the application of Carbon Tax and the differential in VAT means that the perpetrator saves €1,195.61 in Carbon Tax alone.
‘ The difference in VAT increases the evasion ‘prize’ to €2,005.61. They have concerns that this is too tempting for too many. Not alone does the Irish exchequer lose the tax income, but the legitimate trade can no longer compete.
‘According to the Hardware Association of Ireland this is only part of the problem. There’s now an active online forum which explains how consumers can ring a courier company based in Dublin and arrange collection of coal from a coal warehouse in Co. Tyrone. ‘Customers are also encouraged to ‘ like’ the Facebook page, and it now has 7,726 likes.
‘ The problem is that many consumers are genuinely unaware that, if they do not personally accompany solid fuel for their own domestic use across the border, they cannot import it without paying Carbon Tax’.
Mr Breathnach said: ‘ The cheaper price of illicit goods remains the incentive for the supply and demand of illicit products. Hopefully this new legislation will act as a deterrent to those considering purchasing goods from an illicit source as it makes it an offence to purchase illicit goods.
‘While the bill is focusing on illicit trade in alcohol, tobacco and solid fuel, there are other areas where illicit trade is increasing. For example, while use of illegal diesel has gone down, there is evidence that there is an increase in trade of illegal home heating oil.
RAS said they welcome Mr Breathnach’s Sales of Illicit Goods Bill and said it is ‘a significant step in combating smuggling into Ireland - a problem that cost the exchequer as much as €2.4bn in 2015.
RAS spokesman, Benny Gilsenan, welcomed the bill as a means of protecting small retailers: ‘ This bill will help protect small retailers by deterring the purchase of illicit goods. ‘