66275 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Customs

66275 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Customs: What obligations, if any, does the New Zealand Customs Service have under the WHO framework convention on tobacco control, and how do Customs give effect to it?

Hon Casey Costello: I am advised that the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) has obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Customs gives effect to these obligations by: - only managing matters within their responsibilities, which do not include the setting of public health policies (Article 5), - giving effect to Government policy through the setting and collection of excise and excise equivalent duty and restricting the amount of duty-free tobacco that can be brought into the country (Article 6), and - implementing their obligations under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 in respect to disrupting the illicit trade of tobacco products (Article 15).