UK tax agency threatened with legal action over Israeli settlement trade, says report
A US-based non-profit legal group has threatened litigation against Britain's HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), alleging it has allowed goods from Israeli settlements to enter the UK tariff-free, Sky News reported.
According to a letter sent in July by law firm Leigh Day, representing the Global Echo Litigation Center, agricultural products from Israeli settlements, including those in the occupied West Bank, have been entering the UK in breach of trade rules.
Some goods labelled as Israeli were produced in occupied Palestine, contravening UK guidelines requiring such products to be clearly labelled as originating from settlements to avoid misleading consumers.
Although the UK has a free trade agreement with Israel, Israeli settlement goods do not qualify for preferential tariff treatment.
Citing a four-year investigation by Global Echo, the letter, seen by Sky News, accused HMRC of failing to determine the real source of UK imports, describing the system used to verify the origin of Israeli products as “flawed”.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The letter concluded that goods produced in settlements have "unlawfully benefitted" from reduced import duties.
There has been mounting pressure on the British government to adopt stronger measures on Israel amid rising settler violence and Israeli plans to expand illegal settlements.
Polling of Labour members earlier this year showed that a staggering 87 percent support a ban on trade with Israeli settlements, with only six percent opposing it.
Last month, Middle East Eye reported that Andy Burnham's government is poised to announce a raft of new policies on Israel in September, including a ban on Israeli settlement goods.
The investigation by Global Echo, published in July, examined more than 30,000 export documents for thousands of Israeli shipments to the UK and EU over a period of eight years.
The report found that one in six shipments contained agricultural produce originating from illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights, with at least 42 percent falsely labelled as Israeli-grown.
Based on an analysis of 357 invoice declarations, Global Echo identified five companies that routinely source agricultural products from settlements while declaring Israel as their country of origin, according to the letter.
The non-profit said this was done by mixing settlement produce with Israeli goods, listing a settlement postcode but declaring Israel as the country of origin, or using a “sham” proxy address inside Israel.
One way of evading detection, according to the letter, was for a company to list its corporate headquarters as the origin of its goods, rather than the specific agricultural site required under trade rules.
Global Echo called on HMRC to classify imports declared as Israeli as high risk and strengthen checks to ensure they comply with trade rules.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
