Wholesale chief warns on rogue drinks

HMRC has been targeting retailers in Scotland thought to be selling non duty-paid alcohol.
HMRC has been targeting retailers in Scotland thought to be selling non duty-paid alcohol.

PRESIDENT of the Scottish Wholesale Association Asim Sarwar has told Scottish Grocer that amounts of illegal alcohol available in Scotland seem to have reached concerning levels.

His comments came as HMRC continued a long-running exercise targeting retailers thought to be selling duty-fraud stock.
“There’s certainly duty-fraud stuff out there,” said Sarwar, who is also managing director of United Wholesale Scotland.
“There are HMRC hotlines and we do use those but we’re in the process of setting up a meeting to see if there’s more we can do.
“No-one knows better where there is dodgy stuff than genuine wholesalers.
“If we can find a way to report things through the SWA to Customs I think that would benefit everyone.”