13% of all cigarettes sold in Ireland are contraband: Revenue
Revenue's annual report for 2017 states that last year, 26 million packets of illegal cigarettes were sold out of a total national sale of 215 million packets
Print27 April 2018
In total, 13% of all cigarettes sold in Ireland are contraband, according to Revenue’s 2017 Annual Report.
What’s more, 15% of pouch tobacco used for roll-your-own cigarettes is smuggled.
Worryingly, money lost to the Exchequer from unpaid duty on the sale of illegal packets of cigarettes stands at €229 million.
The Revenue Commissioners’ report also found that 26 million packets of illegal cigarettes were sold out of a total national sale of 215 million packets.
Between 2009 and 2011, the corresponding figures were higher, standing at 15% and 16%. However, the 15% of pouch tobacco on which duty has not been paid, actually rose from 9% in 2016.
Revenue also highlighted its successes in combating illegal activity. “During 2017, we secured 24 criminal convictions for serious tax and duty offences and at the end of the year, a further 27 cases were in the judicial system,” the report stated.
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