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<p>At the end of the transition period, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will need
to make some changes to the tobacco track and trace system for it to continue to operate.
The changes will be kept to the minimum necessary to enable the UK to have full regulatory
control.</p><p> </p><p>The government has not made an assessment of the potential
effect on levels of counterfeit goods of a suspension of the track and trace system
as it remains committed to having a system in place at the end of the transition period.</p><p>
</p><p>The government has no plans to make any changes to the end of the sell through
period. From 20 May 2020, all cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco manufactured in
or imported into the UK must be marked with a unique identifier code and security
label. Businesses with any unmarked stock after this date should return it in accordance
with the existing procedures they have in place with their suppliers.</p><p> </p><p>Product
which fails to comply with the requirements after the sell through period will be
liable to forfeiture. Where HMRC is satisfied that a business is not complying with
the requirements it may issue a notice for the business to remedy any non-compliance.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>To promote and assess compliance across the tobacco supply chain, HMRC
has been working with tobacco manufacturers, retailers and relevant trade bodies to
make them aware of their requirements and the sell through period. A key indicator
of industry compliance is the high volume of businesses registered to use the system.
As of the end of April, over 42,000 economic operators and approximately 65,000 premises
were registered on the system.</p><p> </p><p>It would not be appropriate for HMRC
to publish detailed information about their operational response during the COVID-19
outbreak. However, the public can be assured that HMRC will support legitimate businesses
and individuals while taking tough action against serious criminal activity and those
evading and avoiding paying tax.</p><p> </p><p>It is right that HMRC does everything
possible to protect individuals, businesses and the economy during this extremely
difficult time.</p>
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