The Council of the EU meets today to discuss the reform of the EU’s Comitology system for secondary legislation. The reform, aimed at increasing the accountability of national governments within the Appeal Committee stage of the Comitology process, is an attempt to fix a system that is widely seen as structurally problematic in its lack of transparency. Read More
The Observador reports this week that consumption of contraband tobacco is increasing in Portugal. The Portuguese state loses an estimated €100 million annually in tobacco tax revenue due to smuggling. The second-in-command of Portugal’s anti-tax unit, Lieutenant Colonel Paulo Messias, told reporters that seizures and infractions are increasing, and Portugal is evolving from a mainly production and transit route for illegal tobacco to a market for consumption. Read More
The Grocer reports this week that the UK Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called for tougher sanctions and closer collaboration to tackle illicit alcohol and tobacco trade. The ACS said illicit trade has hit the convenience sector by undercutting prices and driving footfall away from stores, thereby harming local businesses and putting local jobs at risk. Read More
Political negotiations on how to update and strengthen the EU’s lobbying transparency register began this week. Representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission met to discuss how to improve the EU’s rules around lobbying and interest representation. Read More
Portugal this week became the latest European country forced to take robust law enforcement action against smugglers of illegal tobacco. Portuguese police said they have arrested the leader of a tobacco smuggling gang and seized 1.2 million cigarettes in Porto and Aveiro, both in the north of Portugal. The police also said that a total of 10 individuals and two companies had been charged in connection with the smuggling. Read More
An obvious correlation exists between the highest levels of illegal and non-domestic consumption (e.g. France, UK, Ireland, Poland and Finland) and the highest taxation rates applied to fine-cut toconsbacco, in comparison with cigarettes. The figures clearly show that any alignment of tobacco taxation, regardless of the products’ specificities, will prevent fine-cut tobacco from fulfilling its buffer function, leading to increased illegal trade of cigarettes and driving down government revenues.
Read more about the relationship between tax and illegal trade