taxes on cigarettes

[amyb89]

how much are cigarettes taxed

[T]

There are three different duties applied to cigarettes when importing them into the UK, they are as follows:

Ad Valorem @57.6% this charged against the purchase price and any shipping charges which may apply

Excise this based on the quantity and is equal to 22% of the UK retails price plus �99.80 per 1000.

Finally there is VAT @17.5% which is applied against the purchase price, shipping and the other two taxes added together.

To give an example if you were to purchase 50 packets of cigarettes which normally retailed at �4.50 for a price of �1.00 per pack and had them went to you a for a postage charge of �10.00 you would pay the following.

 

Ad valorem = ((50x10)+10) x 57.6% = �34.56

Excise = ((50x4.50)x22%) + 99.80 = �149.30

VAT (50+10+34.56+149.30) x 17.5@ = �42.67

Thus the total taxes payable would be �226.53

So in this example you would actually end up paying more per pack than if you bought them in the local supermarket - �5.73 per pack!