Explanatory note

These Regulations insert a new Part VII and Schedule into the Tobacco Products Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/1712) (“ the principal Regulations”). They come into force on 1st October 2006.

Sections 7A to 7D of the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 (c. 7) ( as inserted by section 2 of the Finance Act 2006 (c. 25)^f1) imposes a duty on tobacco manufacturers not to facilitate smuggling.

Regulation 3 amends the definition of a tobacco manufacturer for the purposes of Part VII of the Regulations to that given by sections 7D(3) and 7D(4) of the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979.

Regulation 4 inserts new regulations 29 – 31 into, and a new Schedule to, the principal Regulations.

New regulation 29 places a requirement on the Commissioners to provide tobacco manufacturers with written notification of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco seized under section 139 of the Customs & Excise Management Act 1979. Notification is only required in the circumstances specified in new regulation 29(2).

New regulation 30 requires the Commissioners to provide a sample of the seized products to the manufacturer and provides that the manufacturer may inspect the entire seizure at any reasonable time for a period of one month beginning with the day on which written notification was given.

New regulation 31 requires the manufacturer to provide the information specified in the Schedule within one month of the day on which notification was given, or, subject to agreement with the Commissioners, a later time. The regulation also enables the Commissioners to dispense with the requirement to provide any of the information specified in the Schedule where they are satisfied that a manufacturer is unable to provide that information despite taking reasonable steps to do so.

The new Schedule specifies the information to be provided by the manufacturer.

A full Regulatory Impact Assessment was published at Budget 2006 and is available at

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2006/index.htm#ria.

Alternatively a copy may be obtained from: