§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase powers of search and detention by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise staff in respect of cross-border movement control of excise goods. [12555]
§ Mr. OppenheimI have no plans at present.
§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what legal steps his Department is taking in conjunction with other European Union member states to combat cross-border movements of goods to evade(a) excise duty and (b) value added tax. [12557]
§ Mr. OppenheimSmuggling and fraud within the European Union are taken very seriously by this Government, the Governments of other member states and the European Commission.
In a joint effort to counter such illegal activities Council directive 77/799/EEC, as amended, provides for the mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the member states in the field of direct and indirect taxation. This close co-operation has, since the completion of the single market, been further enhanced by the introduction of systems for the verification of movements and the exchange of data.
§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on trends in the levels of excise duty across the European Union. [12556]
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§ Mr. OppenheimA number of member states have recently made excise duty changes with effect from 1 January 1997. Trends will be carefully analysed when full information becomes available.