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THE HAULIERS HOPE THAT THEIR COURT ACTION WILL BRING ABUT THE FOLLOWING CHANGES:
Page 6
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• A clarification of the fines that can be imposed. The Home Office recently proposed to double the maximum penalty to £4000 a head without any consultation with the industry (CM2-9 May).
• The group says this proposed amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Act is ambiguous. it could be read that the actual fine for any stowaway is £4,000—not just the maximum.
• The group is seeking to change the burden of proof upon hauliers, which currently means that they are guilty until proven innocent. They say that despite taking all precautions they are increasingly becoming the target of sophisticated criminal gangs or stowaways boarding their trucks on ferries.
• The hauliers also stress that the policy of fines restricts free trade and threatens the future of international cargo movements.