Retailers urged to investigate tobacco track and trace error messages

Businesses that are involved in the tobacco supply chain have an economic operator ID (EOID) code for their business, and a facility ID (FID) code for each site. Over the past eight weeks, any codes that aren’t recognised by the track and trace system have been generating a warning, allowing businesses time to investigate by logging any issues with the ID Issuer website.

However, messages containing codes that fail the new checks will generate an error message from Monday 19 July. Retailers that receive an error message must take action to correct the error before continuing to move tobacco products through the supply chain.

The Association of Convenience Stores has been working with HMRC on providing feedback on issues with the checking system, highlighting issues that retailers have had with incorrect FID and EOID codes, with a view to introducing a more streamlined system in the future where retailers can check codes without generating error messages.

ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “We have worked extensively with HMRC to support retailers with the implementation of the tobacco track and trace system since its introduction in 2019, and we hope that this is another step toward only legitimate businesses being involved in the tobacco supply chain. We urge retailers to investigate any error messages immediately to avoid supply chain issues.”