Revenue investigating cigarettes for sale on Web

The Revenue are investigating the importation of duty-free cigarettes using the Internet.

The investigation began after it emerged websites are selling popular brands of cigarettes that are posted to customers who buy them after giving credit cards details on the Web.

Those using the Web can buy a carton of 200 cigarettes for as little as $10.95 (£9.50) and have them posted to Ireland free of charge. The same amount of cigarettes retails in Ireland for between £30 and £40.

A Revenue spokesman told ireland.coman ongoing investigation into the activity had become focused on the Internet "in the last few days since certain information came to light".

Revenue staff are investigating websites that sell duty-free cigarettes to Irish customers, complementing staff at airports, ports and at An Post sorting offices in an effort to stamp out the importation of duty-free cigarettes - now a major source of finance for Irish criminals.

A "memorandum of understanding" between the Revenue, courier companies and An Post has been drawn up to co-ordinate efforts in the area, the spokesman said. He said there were 108 seizures of packages of cigarettes last year at the An Post sorting office in Naas, Co Kildare.

It is not illegal to receive cigarettes in the post from outside the State if the product is declared on the package. But if the goods are not declared they can be confiscated by authorities here.

Swiss-based company Otamedia sells 32 brands of cigarettes internationally. A company spokesman told ireland.comthat while its main customer base is in the United States, 5 per cent of its customers are in Ireland.

Ireland is the only EU country to which Otamedia will post packages of cigarettes free of charge.

"It was free worldwide, then some European countries started to ask for duty tax for our 200 cigarettes parcels. So we started shipping the 40 cigarette parcels to these countries," the spokesman said.

"The shipping charge became more expensive for so many small parcels" so they could not be posted free of charge, he said.

"Ireland has never made a request for duty tax, so we continue to ship the 200-cigarette parcels there, and the shipping can be free."

Otamedia says all its packages have international standard green customs declaration forms attached, stating content and value.