Hong Kong Customs takes territory-wide law enforcement actions against illicit cigarette selling points
Hong Kong Customs has been mounting a decoy operation targeting cigarette retail points in various districts in Hong Kong since October 7. A total of about 120 000 suspected illicit cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $540,000 and a duty potential of about $400,000, were seized. Ten persons were arrested.
During the operation, Customs officers disguised as customers conducted test buys at different cigarette retail points, including newsstands, stores and grocery shops. Some retail points were found to offer cigarettes for sale at a price less than the statutory duty imposed thereon. As at today (October 14), Customs has taken prompt enforcement actions against ten cigarette retail points in Tuen Mun, Tsing Yi, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Sham Shui Po, Tsz Wan Shan, Pok Fu Lam and North Point, and arrested shop owners and staff. Ten persons, comprising three men and seven women aged between 26 and 73, were arrested.
As part of the new phase of tobacco control measures, the Government gazetted the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 (the Amendment Ordinance) on September 19, 2025. Measures to combat illicit cigarettes, including raising the maximum penalty for relevant offences relating to duty-not-paid tobacco and requiring that cigarettes sold at a price lower than the tobacco duty must be proved to be duty-paid, came into immediate effect on the same day. Since the Amendment Ordinance was gazetted, Hong Kong Customs have conducted frequent patrols and mounted multiple enforcement operations including the decoy operations against cigarette retail points. A total of 38 cigarette retail points were dismantled with about 450 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes seized and 39 persons arrested. The judicial proceedings of 11 cases have been completed with custodial sentences ranging from four-week to six-month's imprisonments. The rest of the cases will also enter the judicial proceedings in due course.
The operation is still ongoing in different districts. Customs reminds cigarette retailers not to sell cigarettes of unknown sources and stay alert to cigarettes supplied at a price less than the statutory duty. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109), if a cigarette is offered for sale or supply at a consideration the value of which is less than the rate of duty imposed on the cigarette, the cigarette is dutiable goods. In addition, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying duty-not-paid cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080, its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs takes territory-wide law enforcement actions against illicit cigarette selling points Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs takes territory-wide law enforcement actions against illicit cigarette selling points Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
