Pricey cloud of smoke over BAT

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the British tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), had hit BAT with a £650000 (R11.2-million) fine for oversupplying cigarettes into the Belgian market.Because tobacco products in Belgium have a lower tax rate, the practice has meant the surplus can be smuggled back to the UK, according to the paper.This is the first time the UK tax authority has penalised a major cigarette producer for the “oversupply of products to high-risk overseas markets”, according to documents seen by Wall Street Journal staff.