The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Brennan,
Kevin
(Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's
Treasury)
Buck,
Ms Karen
(Regent's Park and Kensington, North)
(Lab)
Cable,
Dr. Vincent
(Twickenham)
(LD)
Clarke,
Mr. Charles
(Norwich, South)
(Lab)
Davies,
Philip
(Shipley)
(Con)
Drew,
Mr. David
(Stroud)
(Lab/Co-op)
Evans,
Mr. Nigel
(Ribble Valley)
(Con)
Evennett,
Mr. David
(Bexleyheath and Crayford)
(Con)
Goldsworthy,
Julia
(Falmouth and Camborne)
(LD)
Goodman,
Mr. Paul
(Wycombe)
(Con)
Healey,
John
(Financial Secretary to the
Treasury)
Johnson,
Ms Diana R.
(Kingston upon Hull, North)
(Lab)
Khan,
Mr. Sadiq
(Tooting)
(Lab)
Michael,
Alun
(Cardiff, South and Penarth)
(Lab/Co-op)
Newmark,
Mr. Brooks
(Braintree)
(Con)
Tami,
Mark
(Alyn and Deeside)
(Lab)
Whitehead,
Dr. Alan
(Southampton, Test)
(Lab)
Susan
Griffiths, Committee
Clerk
attended the Committee
Fourth
Delegated Legislation
Committee
Tuesday 12
December
2006
[Mr.
Greg Pope in the
Chair]
Customs and Excise Duties (Travellers Allowances and Personal Reliefs) (New Member States) (Amendment) Order 2006
10.30
am
The
Financial Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey): I beg
to move,
That the
Committee has considered the Customs and Excise Duties
(Travellers Allowances and Personal Reliefs) (New Member
States) (Amendment) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006, No.
3157).
I welcome you
to the Chair, Mr. Pope. I think that this is the first time
I have served under your chairmanship, and I very much look forward to
it. I also welcome hon. Members to the
Committee.
The order
was laid on 29 November alongside a written statement that I made to
the House. Its provisions relate to the two new member states of the
European UnionBulgaria and Romaniawhich, from 1 January
next year, will take advantage of a derogation that allows them to
delay meeting the EU minimum duty levels on cigarettes. In introducing
the order, the Government are using a provision agreed by member states
in 2005 which allows existing member states to maintain quantitative
restrictions on the import of cigarettes by those travelling from new
member states that have not met the EU minimum levels of
duty.
The order
provides a relief from excise duty on the restricted amounts of
cigarettes acquired in Bulgaria and Romania during the transitional
periods, which are the periods when their derogations from the minimum
duty levels apply. The same restrictions on the import of cigarettes
for personal use from those countries will apply as if from third
countriesin other words, 200 cigarettes. No such
restrictions are required for other tobacco products or for alcohol,
because both Bulgaria and Romania are already meeting the EU minimum
rates in relation to those products.
No members of
this Committee served on the Committee that considered the order two
years ago, but hon. Members may be aware that the Government introduced
similar measures applicable to certain tobacco products imported from
eight of the then 10 new accession states during the last round of EU
enlargement in 2004. At that time and now, we considered carefully
whether to maintain the restrictions. We did so because we strongly
recognise and support the rights of citizens to shop across the borders
within the EU and to bring back as much tobacco or alcohol as they wish
for their own use. However, the principle of trade in the single market
is based on the premise that all members abide by common rules, one of
which is setting minimum duty rates that all members agree to apply.
Once the transitional periods end, people travelling from Bulgaria and
Romania will enjoy the same benefits as those from other countries.
Incidentally, in travelling to the UK, they will enjoy the highest
indicative guideline levels in the
Union.
EU minimum
rates of duty on tobacco are an important element in pursuing the wider
health objective of reducing consumption. Research has consistently
shown that the price of cigarettes affects demand and that smoking is
the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in
the UK, probably killing around 100,000 people every year, with the
effects of tobacco not just restricted to smokers.
In addition,
the arguments for applying restrictions remain strong. They are the
same as the ones that we debated in Committee and for which we sought
approval last time we considered the order. The restrictions provide a
certainty for both officers and travellers. They also reduce the cost
of countering smuggling by minimising the time taken to deal with
travellers who bring back excess tobacco products from those countries.
Imposing restrictions in respect of Bulgaria and Romania will maintain
a consistency of approach with the eight countries currently subject to
restrictions until they, too, reach the minimum levels of
duty.
10.35
am
Mr.
Paul Goodman (Wycombe) (Con): It is a pleasure to see you
in the Chair, Mr. Pope. I have not served under your
chairmanship before either, and I am grateful to have the opportunity
to do so.
Perhaps the
best way to consider the statutory instrument is to think about what
would happen if it were not introduced before 1 January by the
Financial Secretary or another Minister. Without it, the current
arrangements in relation to restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania would
lapse. As both countries have a derogation, substantial amounts of
tobaccoprobably larger amounts than required for personal
usecould be brought in from those countries. The measure is,
basically, a tidying up SI. As the Financial Secretary said, it takes
him back to 2004, when he introduced more or less exactly the same SI
in relation to the EU countries that joined
then.
I have one
question, which goes back to what the Financial Secretary said in 2004.
When he introduced the equivalent SI then, he referred to arrangements
in other countries. He
said:
Members
of the Committee may be interested to know that five other member
statesBelgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Swedenhave
said that they intend to take up the option of applying the
restrictions that we are considering. Austria has indicated that it is
likely to maintain the quantitative restrictions that already apply. In
addition, France and Ireland are still considering their
position.[Official Report, Eighth Standing Committee
on Delegated Legislation, 29 April 2004; c.
5.]
What is the situation this
time?
10.36
am
Julia
Goldsworthy (Falmouth and Camborne) (LD): As this is a
tidying up exercise, I do not intend to detain the Committee. Can the
Financial Secretary shed any light on when he expects Romania and
Bulgaria to set minimum duty rates on the products? I am also
interested to know how his Department plans to raise awareness of the
restrictions and what the procedures will be at the point of entry. If
EU and non-EU
entrants to the country are separated, how will it ensure that people
understand the differences, and how does it plan to enforce
them?
10.37
am
John
Healey: The answer to the hon. Member for Wycombe is that
in addition to the list that I reported to the Committee and he read
out, Austria and Ireland also introduced quantitative restrictions.
Eight countries, including the UK, decided to do that with the
accession countries last time around. There is no reason to think that
many of those countries will not adopt a similar approach to Romania
and Bulgaria, both for consistencys sake and for policy
considerations, which we have considered
today.
The
transitional arrangements end on 31 December 2009. I would expect
Bulgaria and Romanias derogation from the requirement to
introduce minimum levels of tobacco dutyin this case on
cigarettesto last for that time, at least until the point at
which they raise their cigarette duties to the minimum levels
required.
Travellers
coming back from Bulgaria or Romania in the interim period will in
practice receive the same advice and information that we have outlined
and expect for travellers from the other accession 8 countries. In
other words, we will ensure that clear information about the
quantitative restrictionsin this case, a limit of 200
cigarettesis maintained on posters, the Customs website and the
advice line. For anyone arriving in the UK with more than 200
cigarettes, their obligation is not to go through the blue channel but
either to take the red channel, if that exists at a port, or to pick up
the red phone and report the
excess.
I hope on that
basis that members of the Committee feel able to endorse the
measure.
Question
put and agreed
to.
Committee
rose at twenty minutes to Eleven
oclock.