§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2001,Official Report, column 141W, on cigarette imports, on what basis the minimum indicative level of 800 was calculated. [17749]
§ Mr. BoatengThe indicative levels for importations of excise goods for own use were agreed unanimously by the Finance Ministers of the EU member states at the ECOFIN meeting of 24 June 1991 and incorporated into Council Directive 92/12/EEC. 800 cigarettes were considered a reasonable indicator, with other factors laid down in Directive 92/12, to help distinguish between smuggling and legitimate imports for own use.