The number of inspections on outlets selling counterfeit alcohol and misrepresented food between April 2012 and March 2015 rose by 10 per cent - from 115 to 127. Despite efforts to combat food crime by councils and Trading Standards, 40% cuts to budgets in England and Wales are beginning to take effect. In Birmingham, TSOs carried out 102 inspections, the highest figure recorded from 243 councils. Despite this increase, the overall rate of inspections remains low.
In January 2015, HMRC launched the 'Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme' (AWRS), which requires all businesses selling alcohol to other businesses to register with the scheme by 31 March 31 2016. The scheme aims to further regulate the alcohol trade by reducing the sale of illegal alcohol and help recoup the £1.2bn that HMRC estimates is lost through evasion of alcohol duty and VAT each year. In March 2015, Newham Council destroyed £75,000 worth of illegal alcohol, which had been seized from shops selling alcohol without a license and from restaurants selling wines and spirits without paying the correct duty.
Read the article at: http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/news/commercial/consumer/25751/under-resourced-local-authorities-struggle-tackle-food-crime
Comments
This news item appeared on the Solicitors Journal and other trade journals and originated from a firm of solicitors. I suspect that the specific data has been extracted from LAEMS, and as you mention Roger probably focusses on TSO inspections of alcoholic and spirit drinks where duty has not been paid to HMRC, rather than counterfeit brands etc. If you read the LAEMS annual report for 2014/15, samples for analysis taken by TSOs fell by another 32%. So the overall picture is rather depressing. Any move to reverse the trend would be welcomed.
Mark
However, is this the complete story or is it rather limited? Here it would be interesting to know what "counterfeit" actually means? The article suggests that the direction is towards non-payments of duty inspections which, I would imagine, is a comparably easy target not requiring any (or certainly not any sophisticated) analysis to be undertaken. For the consumer, I would suggest that illegal alcohol should also be analysed, for example, methanol, as illustrated by the Italian wine scandal.
The article does emphasise the limitations of (danger of) Trading Standards "inspections" without any associated analysis being undertaken.
Perhaps the time has come to suggest that the revenue being recovered by Trading Standards should be used to enhance future inspection/analysis of foodstuffs rather than being remitted to HMRC.
Just a thought.
Roger