Smokers ... get off your arses and buy your tobacco abroad! .... Now!
Do not buy in the UK! ... PERIOD!
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28 comments:
"In the eyes of the Tribunal the review letter contained several preconceptions, prejudgments and non-sequiturs"
"the absurdity of this reason is demonstrated by simply stating it"
"We therefore find that Mr Sked misdirected himself as to the Policy in carrying out the review and his decision is therefore one that no reasonable review officer could have arrived at."
... commonly known here at N2D as 'Skeds' ... that is to say these are Judges comments regarding UKBA Review Officer Ian Sked's reasons for rejecting peoples appeals against seizures.
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"Hand-rolling tobacco up by 67p. Pack of economy cigarettes up 50p, premium cigarettes up 33p. "-The Telegraph
ReplyDeleteThe Politicians really know how to 'twist it in and break it off' when they stick it to us, don't they?
Ahhh but soon they'll be able to announce that no-one smokes in the UK and they can prove it because stats show the supermarkets and small shops aren't selling any! .... in the meantime ... :~)
ReplyDeleteseedlings doing well
ReplyDeleteSmall Shops?!
ReplyDeleteooOOh right, yes I remember them....they were around when we still had those 'pub' thingys...
Seriously though, our local Mr Patell has now had to start selling smuggled/counterfeit tobacco to survive.
All the budget does is ensure that tonight a fleet of white vans will be heading towards Belgium....using fuel that is a whole amazing 1p a litre cheaper.
Me myself I'm booking my next trip abroad which will be in about 8 weeks time and until then the £8.50 a pouch for smuggled genuine tobacco doesn't seem so obscene anymore although I'll have to stop 'tubing' and start hand rolling again.
Off to Adinkerke in two weeks, SH. Timed to coincide with reaching my last pouch of Gold Leaf from last time. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy staff are going to be hit hard by this, so for the first time I'm going to be organising regular free day trips for them (using our transport) to get their supplies. It's officially a taxable perk on the P11D form, but I'll cover that too.
I don't see why these working class people should have their wages ripped from their pockets by a bunch of arrogant self-righteous Old Etonians in Westminster.
Go George! :)
ReplyDeleteSmall shops have been doing it a while now SBC.
Zaphod is buying a new Transit ... he says he wants white! ... trouble maker! Also he wants it to have signage on to attract the tobacco enforcement c3po's that will think it's a company vehicle with a driver that's smoking!
l envisage his logo will be skull n crossbones.
8 weeks time eh? UKBA drones will be out to get ya but l'm sure you can handle them!
Dick ... you'll get a medal for this. Truly Camerloon's Big Society at work ... and fighting smuggling too!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, kudos to you.
Dick, that's an amazingly generous thing for you to do. Good on ya!
ReplyDeleteMore should follow SH and DPs lead. l tip my hat to both of them.
ReplyDeleteSeen the latest on Simon Clark's site (FOREST)?
ReplyDeletehttp://taking-liberties.squarespace.com/blog/2011/3/23/tobacco-duty-increase-hits-law-abiding-consumers-who-use-bri.html
Suggestions of a booze cruise in comments run by FOREST but so far Simon remains silent.
"Voice and friend of the smoker" states Forest but l can't hear them.
"HMRC and the UK Border Agency will be introducing a renewed strategy to tackle this fraud from April 2011."
ReplyDeleteIn other words they will continue to harass and terrorize legitimate shoppers. I can't wait for SH's first recorded encounter with their 'renewed strategy'.
At the moment I am , following SH's suggestion, working on my own 'Statement Of Truth' to take with me. Fortunately I can prove exactly how much tobacco I brought back on my previous trips.
It's alright for you Southern Poofters, I live in Scotland. Fat chance of me getting cheap fags.
ReplyDeleteWatch it Weasel ... us Yorkshiremen take offence to statements like that! ...on more than one level.
ReplyDeleteNow if you have friends who live south of Nac Mac Feegleland, l'm sure they'd not be averse to sending you the occassional 'gift'. Such a thing being perfectly legal and all by current HMRC regulations.
Crivens! :)
Wrinkled, I feel your pain. Living in Darwins Waiting Room aka North Norfolk, means the cost of getting to an airport/ferry terminal is prohibitive or rather means the only way is to buy in bulk (ie more than 3 kg). Whether a cheap flight from Stansted or with the 'ruptured duck' (Harwich -Hoek ferry) travel costs in total are just shy of £200.
ReplyDeleteSBC ... you need to get together a section (a platoon may be pushing it). Share the cost. We use our transit, bolted some seats in and we can easily take 8. lt's bi-fuel and we get 15p a mile.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it to Dover? 150 miles? That'd cost us £45 return ... approx £6 each. Another say £50 for crossing to Calais ... approx £6 each. Happy Days!
Signage on side of van ... SBC's Marauders! :)
Should have thought that SBC or anyone would have a mate (even a non-smoking one) who would bring back some tobacco if asked; there must be thousands of non-smokers crossing each way every day, some of them even from Norfolk (wherever that is)?
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous
ReplyDelete"Should have thought that SBC ... would have a mate"
I don't have friends because you never know if they are really your friends or agents for T H E M (the Government/UKBA/CIA/BND etc).
You can never be paranoid enough. Now excuse me I have to fold a new tin foil hat,change proxy servers and pray for The Rapture.
Spare a thought for New Zealanders;- 250g is the max allowable duty-free import per person, and has been for decades; - Imperial Tobacco has just taken Golden Virginia off the market here 'cos they weren't selling enough; -it was only ever available in 30g packs, and the same price as Drum, ie NZD 28.50 (~ UKP 13.333); 50g Drum is $43, approx UKP 20.07.
ReplyDeleteThat's after the last 10% tax increase 1 Jan 2011, which was preceded by a 10% rise mid 2010 (with an extra 14% on RYO & pipe tobacco, since some lunatic TC zealot decided RYO smokers were rolling smaller cigarettes on average so they should be taxed on a per-cigarette basis instead of a per weight basis!!!)
Then, there's a further 10% tax increase legislated for 1 Jan 2012, by which time a 50g pack will likely be around $50 NZD, or ~ 23.34 UKP (there's always an anual CPI adjustment upwards as well as any excise increases).
Plus, there's a very vocal public push by the zealots to make NZ 'smokefree' (ie after making it very expensive!) by 2020 - thus being the first nation in the world after Bhutan to do so.
All commercial tobacco sales to be ended.
Clearly insane.
For those who can't emigrate (or be accepted anywhere else in the world as an immigrant) this effectively would make NZ a "smoke-free" prison... (Legislation has already been passed to ban smoking in prisons (by inmates) which comes into effect in a few months.)
I believe global tobacco control has made NZ a special focus, precisely because it has modern efficient Customs, is a long way from anywhere, and so smuggling is made difficult; thus the effort to make it the poster-child for their smoke free world blueprint.
The politicians are almost completely under thrall to ASH & the SFC here; only 3 out of 120 voted against the recent display ban legislation (and I think too the former tax increases).
She's an uphill battle, this one!
~ Ross M.
Damn, Ross. There's more sheep in NZ than l thought ...
ReplyDeleteKeep fighting mate!
"Damn, Ross. There's more sheep in NZ than l thought "
ReplyDeleteSure does look like it ain't just the sheep who get shagged in NZ.
Any advice for someone who's too disabled to travel?
ReplyDeleteMac dont you have any mates or family that can sort you out? Our MC looks after it's own and others. Which part of UK you live?
ReplyDelete@Mac ... Prop seems to have it covered. Also, do you have anyone you know living in the EU? l'm sure they could send you 'occasional gifts'. Done correctly it rarely causes a problem.
ReplyDeleteProp and SH,
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying so promptly - nope, I'm a single-handed enterprise, and therefore knackered :)
East Kent, between Canterbury & Dover (ironic eh?).
Mac, seeing as you only live down the road from the ports surely you can get a son/nephew/chavvy oik pulled off the street at random to go over on foot and a cheap day return for you? The Ramsgate-Ostend ferry is four hours of disgustingly dirty orange vinyl seating and a joke of a bar BUT...
ReplyDelete(seriously people, that ferry has NO amenities and the only 'entertainment' is watching some US film with flemish subs while drinking some of the worst coffee ever).
Sending an 'agent' to buy for you is strictly speaking illegal but as long as he keeps stumm you'll be ok.
Hell if we lived down that way I'd spend Youngest Useless Object over for you.
Yeah c'mon Mac you hav to know someone. Who gets your shopping and things?
ReplyDeleteShopping? Bless the internet say I, without which I would be well screwed :)
ReplyDeleteAS for the rest, I live like Howard Hughes (minus the mandarin fingernails and jars of urine natch); so definately lacking the personnel...
Yeah Mac, got a couple of mates now disabled cos of bike accidents. Theyd be pretty much housebound without us. lnternet maybe your answer then, get to know some people in Belgium if you know what l mean :)
ReplyDelete