LCQ8: Combating activities relating to duty-not-paid cigarettes
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Question:
It has been reported that the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) indicated that a total of 12 441 cases of cross-boundary travellers smuggling cigarettes were detected in the first half of this year. Regarding the combating of activities relating to duty-not-paid cigarettes (illicit cigarettes), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of Hong Kong residents and visitors caught smuggling or carrying excess quantities of cigarettes at various land boundary control points in the first half of this year, the changes in these figures as compared with the same period last year, and the respective quantities and values of the illicit cigarettes involved;
(2) given that according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Hong Kong received more than 20 million visitors in the first five months of this year, with Mainland visitors increasing by about 10 per cent year-on-year, whether the authorities have projected if the number of persons illegally carrying illicit cigarettes into Hong Kong will increase; if so, of the preventive measures in place; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) apart from increasing the penalty compoundable under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109) from $2,000 to $5,000 for bringing tobacco and other dutiable commodities into Hong Kong without proper declaration, of the publicity and educational efforts to be made by the authorities in future and the details of such efforts;
(4) it has been reported that advertisements and messages claiming to facilitate the sale and delivery of duty-not-paid illicit cigarettes to Hong Kong consumers via cross-boundary logistics channels have been posted on social media platforms, of the targeted countermeasures taken by the authorities to combat such smuggling; the number of relevant cases detected, the number of persons arrested and the dutiable value of the illicit cigarettes seized from 2024 to date;
(5) whether it has reviewed if the current staffing establishment of C&ED is sufficient to cope with the work of combating the bringing-in of illicit cigarettes; whether C&ED will consider increasing manpower to combat such contraventions; if C&ED will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6) whether C&ED has plans to adopt advanced and innovative technology to assist in combating illicit cigarettes in future; if so, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109) (the Ordinance), tobacco products are dutiable commodities. Importers or manufacturers shall pay tobacco duty according to the specified rates under the Ordinance. To protect government revenue, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) has been combating smuggling and trading of illicit cigarettes on different fronts.
Upon consultation with the Health Bureau and C&ED, my reply to Dr the Hon Kennedy Wong's question is as follows:
(1) & (2) C&ED has been adjusting their enforcement strategies to combat the smuggling of illicit tobacco into Hong Kong having regard to the actual situation. Since May this year, C&ED has been presenting the monthly statistics on the number of cases involving seizure of excessive tobacco and liquor and their relevant penalties at all boundary control points (BCPs) and issued press releases on cases involving sentencing to remind visitors of the severity and legal consequences of relevant illegal activities in order to enhance the deterrent effect.
The respective number of Hong Kong residents and visitors arrested for smuggling or carrying excess quantities of cigarettes at land control points in the first half of 2024 and 2025 and the quantities and values of the illicit cigarettes involved are listed in the table below:
| January to June 2024 | January to June 2025 | |||
| Hong Kong residents | Visitors | Hong Kong residents | Visitors | |
| Number of persons arrested | 4 166 | 3 692 | 6 250 | 5 544 |
| Quantity of illicit cigarette seized (million sticks) |
1.1 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Value ($ million) |
4.4 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
(3) The Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Amendment Bill) was passed by the Legislative Council on September 11, 2025 to implement a series of measures to combat illicit cigarettes, including raising the maximum penalty for relevant offences relating to duty-not-paid tobacco from a $1 million fine and two-year imprisonment to a $2 million fine and seven-year imprisonment; listing the relevant offences under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455) to enable C&ED to freeze assets associated with illicit tobacco activities; increasing the penalty for offences of failing to declare to Customs Officers compoundable under the Ordinance from $2,000 to $5,000; and requiring that cigarettes sold at a price lower than the tobacco duty be proved to be duty-paid. The above measures have taken immediate effect upon the gazettal of the Amendment Bill on September 19.
C&ED has collaborated with relevant government departments, including the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Department of Health, the Police and the Housing Department, to launch a series of publicity and educational activities. Information on the increased penalties has been disseminated to the community and the public through multiple channels, including broadcasting and publishing a new series of videos, audio clips and posters on major television channels, radios, newspapers and C&ED's official social media platforms, and publishing a series of posts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Xiaohongshu, WeChat, etc.
In addition to presenting the monthly statistics on the number of cases and penalties at all BCPs as mentioned above, C&ED also disseminates information on the relevant offences and penalties to visitors through promotion videos, audio clips and mega posters at all BCPs, including the airport, land control points, etc. This serves to remind visitors that carrying dutiable commodities in excess of the duty-free concessions upon immigration is illegal and of the seriousness of the offence. To enhance the awareness of visitors from the Mainland of the new penalties, C&ED has placed advertisements at prominent locations at some Mainland land control points and the handles in the train compartments of metros in the Mainland.
C&ED will continue to visit public housing estates in various districts, trade unions, etc., to conduct interdepartmental anti-illicit cigarette publicity and educational activities and seminars. C&ED will also put up posters and broadcast promotion videos in all the 18 districts of Hong Kong to enhance public awareness of the relevant offences and penalties.
(4) C&ED has been closely monitoring sale of illicit cigarettes on the internet and conducting cyber patrols. When suspected cases are detected, C&ED will follow up with investigation and request the relevant websites or social media platforms to block the accounts concerned and remove the relevant illicit cigarette advertisements. From January to August 2025, a total of 266 relevant advertisements have been removed.
On combatting cross-boundary logistics smuggling, C&ED detected 766 cases from January 2024 to August 2025 and seized about 670 million illicit cigarettes in total, with a duty potential of about $2.21 billion. A total of 188 persons have been arrested.
C&ED will strengthen intelligence gathering and closely monitor the latest updates of illicit cigarettes activities. It will continue to strengthen enforcement at BCPs to intercept the inflow of illicit cigarettes into local markets. If illegal activities are detected, C&ED will take resolute enforcement actions.
(5) and (6) C&ED has been putting forward the development of Smart Customs to enhance detection capability and clearance efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to facilitate risk management. C&ED has fully deployed advanced non-intrusive inspection equipment, such as Computed Tomography Scanners with AI functions, auto-detection devices for X-ray checkers, Smart Under Vehicle Robots, Platform for X-ray Image Evaluation, Vehicle Inspection and Strategic Analysis System, etc., in order to combat illicit cigarettes activities more effectively. C&ED will introduce advanced equipment and innovative technologies as appropriate to continuously enhance the detection capabilities and enhance enforcement effectiveness in combatting illicit cigarette activities.
In addition, C&ED has amended the Ordinance to implement a duty stamp system, requiring importers/local manufacturers to ensure that each package of duty-paid cigarettes is affixed with a duty stamp when being put on the market for sale. Through the application of anti-forgery features and related digital technologies, frontline officers of C&ED would be able to distinguish duty-paid cigarettes from duty-not-paid ones in a more effective manner, enhancing efficiency of law enforcement. C&ED targets to implement the first phase of the duty stamp system in Q4 2026, with full implementation in Q2 2027.
C&ED will review the staff establishment regularly and flexibly deploy resources to handle anti-illicit cigarette work.
Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
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