Britain is facing a £20 million fine from the European Commission for unpaid duties on garlic imported from outside the bloc. The commission claims British customs did not charge enough duty on Chinese garlic. The UK imports hundreds of tonnes of the quintessentially European bulb from China each year.

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The fine was incurred between 2005 and 2006; British customs officers are said to have charged the duty for frozen garlic, rather than for fresh, which carries a higher levy. It covers 25,000 tonnes of fresh Chinese garlic, imported and declared as frozen over the period.

If the UK does not pay within two months, the Commission has threatened it will pass the case on to the European Court of Justice. The error was uncovered during an inspection by EU anti-fraud body OLAF in July 2006.

In a statement about the case, the Commission said, "The Commission considers that the UK authorities did not act with all due care when issuing the authorising documents and failed to collect the correct amount of duties. They are therefore held financially responsible for the loss of approximately £20 million to the EU budget."