To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address cross-border
smuggling of diesel fuel between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
<p>A range of measures are in place to detect and deter cross border smuggling of
diesel between the Republic and Ireland and Northern Ireland. These include investigative
work on either side of the border, for example checking of documentation, and acting
on intelligence received. This is augmented by close cooperation and information sharing
by the HMRC, the Irish Revenue Commissioners and other relevant agencies.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>Additionally, HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units
performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently
announced, jointly with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will
make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p>
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Newby on 15 July (HL
Deb, col 501), what specific legislative change was undertaken specifically to deal
with the absence of custodial sentences for illegal production or smuggling of diesel
in Northern Ireland; and on what date those legislative changes became effective.
<p>Legislative change enacted in, The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Review of Sentencing)
Order (Northern Ireland) 2013 (SR 249/2013) allows the appeal of unduly lenient sentences
for fuel fraud to the Court of Appeal. It came into force on 9 December 2013.</p><p>All
22 convictions related to offences prosecuted under Section 170(2)(a) of the Customs
and Excise Management Act 1979 for fraudulent evasion of duty. Further details area
as follows:</p><p> </p><p>· 15 of the cases were prosecuted for two offences under
this Act</p><p>· 12 of these convictions resulted in suspended sentences totalling
104 months, with each being suspended for a period of time between 12 and 36 months</p><p>·
One case resulted in the defendant being bound over</p><p>· In nine cases fines of
up to £4,000 were imposed - totalling £11,700; and in two of these the defendant was
given a period of up to 26 weeks to pay the fine or an additional custodial sentence
would be imposed</p><p>· One conviction was converted into a time to pay agreement
due to the ill health of the defendant</p><p>· One Confiscation Order was made for
£98,000</p><p>· One Compensation Order was made for £500</p><p> </p><p>It would not
be prudent to provide the further detailed information requested as they could lead
to identification of the individuals concerned and jeopardise the safety of the defendants
and their immediate families.</p><p> </p><p>No assessment has been made of how much
of the diesel bought in the Republic of Ireland and brought into Northern Ireland
is illegally produced or smuggled. However, tax gap figures estimate the market share
for all illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12-13% in 2011-12 and negligible for
petrol.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables</a></p><p>HMRC
fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of
roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly
with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder
to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Newby on 15 July (HL
Deb, col 501), for each of the 22 convictions referred to, what was the (1) date of
conviction, (2) the charge on which the perpetrator was found guilty, (3) the other
charges, if any, dealt with in the same trial, on which the convicted person was found
not guilty, (4) the sentence passed, and (5) the court in which the hearing took place.
<p>Legislative change enacted in, The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Review of Sentencing)
Order (Northern Ireland) 2013 (SR 249/2013) allows the appeal of unduly lenient sentences
for fuel fraud to the Court of Appeal. It came into force on 9 December 2013.</p><p>All
22 convictions related to offences prosecuted under Section 170(2)(a) of the Customs
and Excise Management Act 1979 for fraudulent evasion of duty. Further details area
as follows:</p><p> </p><p>· 15 of the cases were prosecuted for two offences under
this Act</p><p>· 12 of these convictions resulted in suspended sentences totalling
104 months, with each being suspended for a period of time between 12 and 36 months</p><p>·
One case resulted in the defendant being bound over</p><p>· In nine cases fines of
up to £4,000 were imposed - totalling £11,700; and in two of these the defendant was
given a period of up to 26 weeks to pay the fine or an additional custodial sentence
would be imposed</p><p>· One conviction was converted into a time to pay agreement
due to the ill health of the defendant</p><p>· One Confiscation Order was made for
£98,000</p><p>· One Compensation Order was made for £500</p><p> </p><p>It would not
be prudent to provide the further detailed information requested as they could lead
to identification of the individuals concerned and jeopardise the safety of the defendants
and their immediate families.</p><p> </p><p>No assessment has been made of how much
of the diesel bought in the Republic of Ireland and brought into Northern Ireland
is illegally produced or smuggled. However, tax gap figures estimate the market share
for all illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12-13% in 2011-12 and negligible for
petrol.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables</a></p><p>HMRC
fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of
roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly
with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder
to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Newby on 15 July (HL
Deb, col 501), what is their estimate of how much of the diesel bought in the Republic
of Ireland and brought into Northern Ireland, is illegally produced or smuggled into
the province.
<p>Legislative change enacted in, The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Review of Sentencing)
Order (Northern Ireland) 2013 (SR 249/2013) allows the appeal of unduly lenient sentences
for fuel fraud to the Court of Appeal. It came into force on 9 December 2013.</p><p>All
22 convictions related to offences prosecuted under Section 170(2)(a) of the Customs
and Excise Management Act 1979 for fraudulent evasion of duty. Further details area
as follows:</p><p> </p><p>· 15 of the cases were prosecuted for two offences under
this Act</p><p>· 12 of these convictions resulted in suspended sentences totalling
104 months, with each being suspended for a period of time between 12 and 36 months</p><p>·
One case resulted in the defendant being bound over</p><p>· In nine cases fines of
up to £4,000 were imposed - totalling £11,700; and in two of these the defendant was
given a period of up to 26 weeks to pay the fine or an additional custodial sentence
would be imposed</p><p>· One conviction was converted into a time to pay agreement
due to the ill health of the defendant</p><p>· One Confiscation Order was made for
£98,000</p><p>· One Compensation Order was made for £500</p><p> </p><p>It would not
be prudent to provide the further detailed information requested as they could lead
to identification of the individuals concerned and jeopardise the safety of the defendants
and their immediate families.</p><p> </p><p>No assessment has been made of how much
of the diesel bought in the Republic of Ireland and brought into Northern Ireland
is illegally produced or smuggled. However, tax gap figures estimate the market share
for all illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12-13% in 2011-12 and negligible for
petrol.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-tax-gaps-tables</a></p><p>HMRC
fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of
roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly
with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder
to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
