THE new cigarette taskforce will tackle sophisticated smuggling syndicates responsible for up to 40 per cent of all cigarettes smoked in Hong Kong.
Commissioner of Customs, Don Watson, said that on top of the illicit trade across the China border, gangs were transferring duty free export cigarettes to incoming ships outside Hong Kong waters and smuggling them back in without paying duties.
Mr Watson admitted the Government had created a ''new breed of criminal'' when it raised tobacco tax by 100 per cent in 1991.
''This inevitably led to a lucrative trade in smuggling 'Hong Kong duty not paid' cigarettes into Hong Kong for sale on the black market,'' Mr Watson said.
''As a result, duty payment on cigarettes has dropped significantly, with an estimated 40 per cent reduction between 1990 and 1993.'' Duties had dropped from $6.99 billion in 1990 to $4.17 billion in 1993.
''If this reduction could have been accounted for by the corresponding decrease in the number of smokers, the rationale for introducing such a high rate would have been met. Unfortunately this is not so.'' It is believed syndicates are operating from both China and Hong Kong.
