PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(13 July 2026)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the tax and duty revenue foregone through illicit trade in (a) cigarettes, (b) hand-rolling tobacco, (c) heated tobacco products, (d) vaping products, and (e) nicotine pouches in the latest year for which data are available; and whether those estimates are available for (i) West Sussex and (ii) Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.

Asked by:
Alison Griffiths (Conservative)

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes estimates of the tobacco tax gap, including revenue lost through the illicit trade in cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, in the annual Measuring Tax Gaps publication. The latest tax gap figures are available for 2024 25 tax year, and can be found here: Measuring tax gaps 2026 edition: tax gap estimates for 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK

HMRC does not produce estimates for heated tobacco products. Nicotine pouches are not subject to excise duty, and no estimate is made for vaping products as Vaping Products Duty will not come into force until October 2026.

Estimates are not produced for localised geographical areas and therefore are not available for West Sussex or for the Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.

Answered by:
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