Alan Powell reviews the top five tax developments in 2011 affecting excise duties
The five key developments of 2011 in this field are as follows:
For many years alcohol duty fraud (particularly beer) has been a problem for HMRC and the legitimate wholesale sector. HMRC’s latest estimates suggest annual revenue losses for beer of up to £800m in 2009/10 increasing from an estimated £550m in 2008/09. The fraud involves consignments of popular UK brands being positioned on the near-continent under duty suspension or held duty paid at lower rates of duty than the UK. The goods are then smuggled back into the UK without payment of duty and VAT and controlled by criminal gangs through...
