Customs Intercepts Smuggled Goods Worth N23.07m
Nigeria – The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, on Saturday said it had intercepted smuggled goods valued N23.07 million. The anti-smuggling drive of the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, received a major boost following the seizure of smuggled frozen poultry products concealed in a specially-built compartment of a truck. The unit also seized 82 bales of used and new ladies’ bags and school bags Physical examination revealed that the truck had 555 cartons of smuggled frozen poultry products.
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Govt loses millions to illegal tobacco trade
Botswana – The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Bank said this at a workshop meant to discuss initiatives to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products.The government is a signatory to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products 2013.At the forum held at President Hotel, deputy permanent secretary in MoH, HarunaJibril said the implications of the ever increasing illicit trading, cross border smuggling and counterfeit tobacco products are massive.
The workshop provided a platform to enable various stakeholders to share views on how Botswana could fulfill its obligation in line with the FCTC provision to eliminate illicit trade. This comes at a time when the country’s tobacco control bill is expected in Parliament next year.Senior trade facilitation specialist at the World Bank, Enrique Ivanovic said all people trading in tobacco and its products ought to be licensed.Moreover, a competent authority must be set up to issue, renew, suspend or revoke these licenses subject to the provisions of the Protocol, he suggested.
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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.
Candle Light Congregation – Fight against Smuggling and Counterfeiting, Bangalore
18/12/2015 | Bangalore
‘Counterfeits and smuggled goods are threatening the key elements of India’s growth strategy vis-à-vis technology, invention and innovation which are the key elements in India’s economic developmental agenda’. This was highlighted at the candle light congregation organized by FICCI CASCADE in Bengaluru. It was emphasized that activities involving such illicit trade curbed the country’s economic independence. As a part of its series of nation-wide awareness campaigns to highlight the issue of growing menace of counterfeiting and smuggling, FICCI CASCADE (Committee against Smuggling & Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy), organized a candle light congregation at Jain College on December 18, 2015. Over 200 students with candles in their hand and banners stating ‘Buy Make in India’ and ‘Say No to Smuggled Goods’ participated in this congregation with much zest and zeal. This congregation urged all to take a pledge against using fake products and to fight the menace of smuggling which was in the larger interest of the nation’s economy.
Mr. P C Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE & former Chairman, CBEC stated that according to a recently released FICCI CASCADE study,the total loss to the government estimated for 2014, on account of the illicit markets in respect of seven manufacturing sectors was Rs 39,239 crores. Further, during the last twenty years, the volume of the counterfeiting activity has increased 100 times and the size of trade in counterfeited goods is 10% of the legal international trade.He observed that the need for awarenessof consumers,particularly the youth, on illicit trade practices as vital. Mr. Jha also emphasized that purchases, as far as possible, should be done against bills.
Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and former Special Commissioner, Delhi Police, stated that the Indian Government had initiated various steps to address counterfeiting, piracy and smuggling. Despite these actions, a study by FICCI CASCADE reveals that counterfeiting and smuggling rates are still very high. Mr. Chand said that illicit trade such as counterfeiting and smuggling was an economic offence, created a black market or underground economy, in which goods and services were traded illegally. Consumer participation at large in the fight against counterfeiting and smuggling is crucial to determine the growing circulation of such goods.
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