ILLEGAL TRADE OF EXCISE GOODS AS MULTIDIMENTIONAL SOCIAL PHENOMENON AND THE ISSUES OF CONTROL

The Project aims at conducting of comprehensive study which firstly would represent the illegal trade of excise goods (ITEG) as social phenomena and secondly on the basis of the latter would evaluate effectiveness, proportionality and coherence of the ITEG control system. The group of researchers from different academic fields (law, criminology, sociology, psychology) will do research on economic and social ITEG contexts, also they will make an effort to differentiate types of ITEG offenders and offences. The research will also focus on criminal and administrative sanctions, taxation measures, confiscation of proceeds and instrumentalities. It will also analyse routine ITEG control measures that are being applied by customs, State border service and the police. The effort will be made to examine the role and functionality of every measure in the overall system of ITEG control measures. The effectiveness and proportionality of the system of ITEG control measures will be analysed in the context of established social dimensions of ITEG, also with regard to criminological characteristics of ITEG offences and offenders. It shall be aimed at establishing of different attitude of policy towards different types of ITEG (large scale and high level organized ITEG vs small scale ITEG), also at challenging of effectiveness of over-punitive policies. There will be elaborated an idea that developing of practices of effective confiscation of ITEG proceeds and focus on quality of routine institutional control measures should have the prime role in the strengthening of control of ITEG.

Comparative research of ITEG control systems in neighboring countries, also EU countries with external EU border and EU countries of ITEG destination will be conducted. It will be an important context for evaluation of national ITEG control system. 

 
 
Researchers: Skirmantas Bikelis, Inga Daukšaitė, Renata Giedrytė – Mačiulienė, Judita Venckevičienė, Milda Kaminskaitė.
 
Project duration: 2014.04.01 – 2016.09.30.
 
The project is financed by the Lithuanian Science Council, under the program "Scientist Group Projects".
Project is financed by the Research Council of Lithuania (agreement No. MIP-092/2014).