Landlords to be responsible for tenants tobacco tax evasion?

No Mr Hussein, why are you putting yourself at risk of being found out as an informant, these crooks who smuggle will not think of your life as more important than their illegal trade, and will do everything to stop you and if you did manage to report they would obviously know who reported them, the landlord! And the police is not going to provide you or your family any protection until you sustain serious injuries.

The answer is quite simple how to tackle this problem, and then see how by lowering the duty to almost zilch, this would create thousands of jobs of small kiosks and cafes and restaurants at our port towns like Dover, etc, and boost our local economy as the smugglers from Europe will now be flooding into Dover and Felixstow, or any other ports, into Britain to buy tobacco and take it back to sell in Europe, whilst they are here, they can spend money in our best restaurants, think how much boost it could generate instead of such a depressed economy with no incentives for Europeans to come to Britain for shopping. Equally our population will stop buying cheap cigarettes from smugglers, and instead buy from our regular cigarette outlets with very moderate duty, well under those levied by European nations. UK Government should present themselves as major competitor in this section.

Is it not funny, how our Government encourage competition among businesses, and break up monopoly of big giants, so why not promote competition within EU Nations? Abolish high duty and problem can be resolved overnight.

Hi Mike,
I totally understand what you are saying, but i don't think its as easy as you say or as beneficial to the economy. I am a non-smoker so selling cigarettes is not something I would want to encourage. Making it cheaper will probably mean more people will be taking up smoking and probably a lot of young people as well!. Anyway, regardless of the activities these 'people' are into, the issue with having them as tenants is not something i want, or would like to deal with (for the reasons you give) so avoiding them by careful selection would be my aim, If they become tenants then the sooner I can get them out the better. Obviously i would like this to happen without getting involved, but i don't think you can avoid, Also if you happen to find out what your tenants are up to (by chance or whatever means) you could be deemed to be harbouring them in your property! are you saying you would be happy to leave them alone to do what they want? God Help us!.

As I commented half tongue in cheek on another forum thread the Government's approach to landlords is "Let's fine them £3000 and/or send them to jail for 5 years if they break the rules. Now let's devise some rules."

I foresee landlords receiving heavier penalties than the tobacco smugglers. How about putting the airlines and ferry companies "under a duty of care to ensure that their [modes of transport] are not used to evade duty, and there would be a civil penalty for non-compliance with this duty"? Or perhaps Customs Officers at the ports and airports should be under a duty not to let illicit tobacco through and punished if they do? I could go on. I am struggling to understand that this is a Conservative Government proposing this vicious nonsense.

Reply to the comment left by "Jerry Jones" at "03/03/2017 - 14:51":

Damn lock me in irons and throw away the key. I did their noses but forgot their arses. 🙂

The Govt is asking for opinions on this proposal. Let's flood their inbox!

Email to: tobacco.policy@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Write to:
HMRC, Indirect Tax Tobacco Strategy and Policy Team
3W, Ralli Quays
3 Stanley Street
Salford,
M60 9HL

just a little questionette: will local councils and housing associations (and of course corporate landlords) be expected to commit to taking the same level of reponsibility for the actions of their tenants? Currently, as far as I'm aware, they don't conduct inspection visits of any sort

I think we should have a Tenant questionnaire not dissimilar to the American ESTA form

Qu.1 Do you evade paying tax on illicit tobacco products? please answer Yes/No
Qu.2 Do you have the Right to Rent in the UK? Yes/No
Qu.3 Are you allergic to Legionella disease? Yes/No

Please sign here

While we all laugh at the stupidity of this ridiculous suggestion they will sneak it through. Below is my response sent to HMRC. Anything I may have gleaned from other comments I thank you 🙂

To HMRC

Replies to the above consultation, specifically regarding the Duty of Care by Landlords and Landowners.

Question 20. All tenancy agreements should have a clause stating that their property must not be used for any illegal activities anyway. To add a specific clause regarding duty evasion is unnecessary but could be included in all new agreements.

Question 21. To put a duty of care on landlords is outrageous, how is a landlord supposed, or able to control what is happening day to day in a rented property. The tenant, once signed up to an AST or any other lease agreement has the right to quiet enjoyment of the property. Regular inspections are completed by arrangement with the tenant, and do not include searching through tenant’s belongings. If a tenant is dealing in illegal tobacco products, whether in a private property or commercial they will be certain to have hidden or removed any such products on the day of the inspection. The landlord cannot turn up without prior agreement and search the property. This action would be illegal and possibly dangerous. This is the job of the police and enforcement agency’s working for HMRC not the Landlord

The prevention of the sale of illegal tobacco products is the duty of HMRC and the enforcement agencies, and NOT Landlords.

If a landlord is complicit in the illegal trade of tobacco in their property, then they would be dealt with through the normal courts alongside the illegal dealer. A Duty of Care is unnecessary.

Question 22. Once a tenant has been convicted then it is the job of HMRC or their agents to police the tenant not the Landlord, or is HMRC suggesting Landlord employ private detectives to stake out their tenant’s homes and shops. They have no more power than to do regular inspections. Repeating the answer for question 21. The tenant will hide any evidence of their illegal activity on the day of inspection.

Question 23. No sanctions or penalties should apply to Landlords or Landowners. It is the duty of HMRC and the enforcement agencies to deal with illicit Duty evasion. It is their Duty of Care, not the Landlords and Landowners.

Thanks for that Colin. I'll try to write something over the weekend using your letter as the starting point. I'm happy to post it up here if it might help anyone else.

Indeed. Customs and Excise operatives go through training course to equip them to intercept contraband at borders. I know of no means by which anyone else can acquire these skills and knowledge, or is it going to become a mandatory inclusion in landlords' Accreditation Courses?

First we're expected to sort out tenants' anti-social behaviour because their parents and the Police can't. Then we're expected to check peoples' right to rent in the UK because Border Control can't do their job well enough. And now this. What next? Will we have a duty of care to ensure tenants' childrens' homework is done properly? Might we face fines if their pets haven't had their shots?