worth also remembering on a forum like this you just don't know who else is reading.
I was once a Civil Servant, and was actually discreetly asked whether I wanted to transfer to HMRC as there were going to be budget cuts in my Department and they thought I was a chap with a good head for figures and good investigative skills.
I turned down this offer, but many others wouldn't. (This sort of thing is of course
nothing like what you see in the films and telly and is boring, tedious and ultimately soul destroying, more so the "interesting" bits which involve covert work).
However a lot of Civil Servants enjoy cycling and are very knowledgeable indeed about bikes (the cycle to work loan scheme was first tested out in Whitehall before being rolled out to civillians).
on another (non powered) cycling forum a few people mentioned there are lots of HMRC staff who know loads about bike components and what duty
should be paid on them and are willing to take that knowledge to work..
Also lots of small parcels from the Far East are currently being opened and checked on pre-emptive strikes because they do not contain "gifts" or battery chargers or gadgets or bike bits at all, but kilos of various white powders which are the new rave drugs that the law hasn't quite caught up with yet (although HMRC can sometimes detain them on mislabelling or health and safety grounds).
Of course if the customs officer finds instead dutiable goods without duty paid he or she will of course take appropriate action..
I considered the VAT and other taxes I paid (directly or indirectly) on my Wisper to be part of my contribution to public funded transport infrastructure, and a counterargument to such motorists who incorrectly say "cyclists evade taxes"...