Customs and Excise is facing calls to clamp down on duty fraud which is now believed to be costing more than £7.3 billion a year.

The lost revenue is from goods such as tobacco and alcohol.

Forum Response: National Audit Office

Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told ePolitix.com: "I welcome and support the steps that Customs have taken to estimate the amount of revenue being lost through fraud, and to develop and implement counter-fraud strategies. Fraud is a major problem both for government and for citizens, and I will be reporting on how a number of departments are responding to the challenge."