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| EU investigates illegal trade with energy saving lamps  The German customs authorities announced the recovery of €7 million in evaded import duties for illegally imported energy saving lamps. This success of the European Anti-Fraud Office's (OLAF) partner service in Germany, the Zollkriminalamt, is part of the EU-wide investigation of the illegal trade in these products originating from China. It is estimated that up to €50 Million Euros financial damage has been caused to the EU-taxpayer by those cases of the illegal import of energy saving lamps investigated by OLAF.Energy saving lamps originating in China are liable to the payment of anti-dumping duties (ADD) on importation into the EU – the current rate of ADD is up to 66.1%. Evasion of this duty is therefore financially very attractive for the operators concerned. Some 13 different countries have allegedly been used for this purpose and OLAF has already carried out investigations concerning this traffic from Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia and has ongoing investigations concerning the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. OLAF is continuing to carry out investigations into this illegal trade. Several of these investigations have already led to administrative and criminal proceedings to recover an amount of €30 Million. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |