A man was fined $123,000 for renting out his central London apartment to tourists on Airbnb

A man has been fined £100,000 ($123,000) for renting out his central London council apartment to tourists on Airbnb.

In the UK, council properties are managed by the government and distributed to people in need. Most are gifted, or rented at a subsidized rate, so it's illegal to sublet them.

Westminster City Council said that Toby Harman, 37, had made £100,974 ($124,302) in profits from 300 bookings at his Victoria apartment since 2013.

Harman wrote on Airbnb that his "cozy studio apartment in Victoria" also had a hot-tub.

Council member Andrew Smith said: "Social housing is there to provide much-needed homes for our residents, not to generate illicit profits for dishonest tenants."


A British man has been fined £100,000 ($123,000) for renting out his government-owned apartment in central London to tourists on Airbnb.

In the UK, council houses are owned by the government and distributed to people in need. Some are handed out free of charge, but most are rented at a subsidized rate. It's illegal for council tenants to sublet their homes.

Westminster City Council said in a statement on July 19 that Toby Harman, 37, accepted 300 bookings at his apartment in Victoria since 2013, making £100,974 ($124,302).

source:- https://www.insider.com/london-airbnb-fined-for-renting-out-government-apartment-2019-7

Delhi and Bengaluru customs stop clearing 'gifts': Report Aditi Agrawal

In a bid to stem e-commerce shipments from Southeast Asia and China which are wrongly declared as ‘gifts’ to evade duties, courier terminals at Bengaluru and Delhi have stopped clearing parcels under the CB-12 (gifts and samples) route, according to an Economic Times report. Mumbai Customs took a similar action in January 2019, while Chennai is considering it.

What is the CB-12 rule?

• Individuals can receive free samples and gifts up to ₹5,000 in value without paying any duties
• No cap on the number of gifts individual can receive; exploited by overseas e-commerce vendors

Problem with the rule

• E-commerce platforms based in China, such as Club Factory, Shein and AliExpress, misuse this rule to ship cheaper products to Indian customers as gifts, thus avoiding customs duty, and goods and services tax, LiveMint had earlier reported.
• Under a World Trade Organization moratorium, electronic transfer of services, such as e-books don’t require imposition of customs, but physical transfer of goods bought on e-commerce platforms are taxable.

https://www.medianama.com/2019/07/223-delhi-and-bengaluru-customs-stop-clearing-gifts-report/