PSST. Want to buy a mobile phone? The Revenue Commissioners have a few - 299 to be exact. They seized the said items when an entrepreneur acquired them in Britain using incorrect VAT numbers.

The phones are valued at £100,000. Whether they'll sell them is another matter.

You can also contact the Revenue if you want to buy some motor tyres. They seized £200,000 worth of rubber as part of their inquiries into the "illegal acquisition" of merchandise in other EU member states during 1995. Again the goods were bought using bogus VAT registration numbers.