AUSTRALIA. The Nuance Group has been hit with fines totalling A$337,500 (US$344,000) after being found in breach of tobacco display laws at Sydney Airport in December 2009. The company has also been forced to pay A$50,000 (US$51,000) in costs to the Prosecutor.
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“We have since reviewed our internal procedures to ensure that this does not reoccur and there is strict ongoing compliance“ |
Derek Larsen Chief Executive Officer The Nuance Group Australia |
The retailer pleaded guilty to a number of charges under the New South Wales Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008.
The case was taken against the company by the State Department of Health.
According to case files from New South Wales’ Supreme Court, Nuance “was alleged to have established a freestanding display unit on 23 December 2009. The display was said to have been constituted by approximately 29 packages of tobacco product.”
It was later alleged to have committed further offences between March 2010 and March 2011 involving tobacco advertisement.
The Nuance Group Australia Chief Executive Officer Derek Larsen told The Moodie Report: “We can confirm that the temporary breach occurred during a brief period when we were reconfiguring a store at our Sydney Airport operation. When we were made aware of this matter, we took swift and immediate action to rectify the situation.
“We have since reviewed our internal procedures to ensure that this does not reoccur and there is strict ongoing compliance.”
In its evidence, Nuance said it had believed it was exempt from “compliance with parts of earlier legislation that applied to tobacco retailing at its airside stores,” but this was rejected by the court.
In handing down the sentence the judge accepted that the company has shown remorse and had since acted to comply with the legislation.
Australia has some of the strictest tobacco display and retailing regulations in the world. New South Wales regulations dictate severe limitations in how the category is offered to consumers at Sydney airport, while tobacco products cannot be displayed or sold on its website.
As reported, the Australian Duty Free Association this month hit out at government claims that a ban on inbound tobacco allowances and on Arrivals duty free tobacco sales would “lead to better budgetary outcomes”.
A government document, the Henry Tax Review, estimated the potential additional tax take at A$200 million (US$204 million), with some estimates even higher at A$270 million (US$275 million).
Responding to leaked documents from government that appeared in the Australian media, ADFA Chair Milton Lasnitzki said: “If these leaked reports are correct then the government has completely over-stated the revenue it expects to raise by banning duty free tobacco sales on arrival and the withdrawing of allowances. It has clearly not considered the costs of the unintended consequences of this poorly thought-out policy.
