HM REVENUE AND
CUSTOMS News Release (NAT 30/07) issued by The Government News
Network on 16 May 2007
A new European
Union (EU) law on travellers declaring cash comes into force in
one month's time. It is being introduced to help combat
money laundering.
As from 15 June 2007, people who are either entering the UK from
a non-EU country, or are travelling from the UK to a non-EU
country and are carrying 10,000 Euros or more (or the equivalent
in other currencies) will be required to declare the cash to HM
Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at the place of their departure from,
or arrival in, the UK.
Forms on which to make the declaration will be available at ports
or airports and will also be downloadable from the HMRC internet
site. Travellers could face a penalty of up to £5000 if they fail
to comply with the obligation to declare, or provide incorrect or
incomplete information.
Dave Humphries, Head of Criminal and Enforcement Policy (HMRC)
said:
"The declaration system is one means of providing
information to assist HMRC in targeting movements of criminal
cash more effectively."
Notes for editors
1. The EU cash declaration scheme derives from European
Parliament and Council Regulation No. 1889/2005 and comes into
effect in all EU Member States on 15 June 2007.
2. "Cash" not only means currency notes and coins but
also bankers' drafts and cheques of any kind (including
travellers' cheques).
3. There will still be no declaration required for people
travelling between the UK and other EU countries.
4. The countries of the EU are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, (including the Canary
Islands), Sweden and the United kingdom (not including the Isle of
Man and the Channel Islands).
5. The declaration form will be produced with a carbon backed top
copy so as to allow travellers to have a duplicate, which
officers of HMRC may ask them to produce as evidence of having
made a declaration.
6. HMRC officers will not detain properly declared cash if they
have no reason to doubt its legitimacy. However, cash may be
seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 if an officer has
reasonable grounds to suspect that it is either the proceeds of,
or is intended for use in, unlawful conduct.
7. The Proceeds of Crime Act received Royal Assent on 24 July
2002. The provisions relating to seizure, detention and
forfeiture of cash came into effect on 30 December 2002. The Act
superseded the existing power to seize drugs related cash at the
borders and extended the provisions to allow cash suspected to be
related to ANY crime to be seized both at the border and inland.
Furthermore, an amalgamation of other legislation in force at the
time removed the distinction between drugs and non-drugs money
laundering offences.
8. HMRC is one of the Government departments responsible for
enforcing frontier protection.
9. Further information is available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
Website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
Customs Confidential
Tel: 0800 59 5000