Does illegal trade agreement have discharge clause?

The EU Commission has been asked whether a 2010 agreement between British American Tobacco (BAT) and the EU includes a discharge clause releasing the company from ‘any civil claims arising out of past conduct relating to the illicit trade’.

The question, which in the normal way of things will be the subject of a written answer by the Commission, has been posed by Bart Staes, a Belgian politician and MEP for Flanders.

In a preamble to his question, Staes said that on July 15, 2010, BAT had signed an agreement with the EU to combat the illegal trade in tobacco.

‘A press release from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the UK suggests that the BAT agreement has a discharge clause that releases the company from past liability for smuggling, noting that “the manufacturers (BAT) are released from any civil claims arising out of past conduct relating to illicit trade”,’ Staes said.

‘On the OLAF website no information is provided on the existence of such a clause.’

Staes asked the Commission to confirm or deny that such a clause exists in the 2010 tobacco agreement concluded between BAT and the EU.