Tax Stamp & Authentication News: Where Excise Recovery Meets Brand Protection
Tax Stamp & Authentication News™ (TSAN) is a unique and comprehensive source of information covering, on the one hand, government-led tax stamp and traceability systems, and, on the other, brand owner-led product protection programmes.
TSAN was launched in October 2025 as a merge between Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ and sister publication Authentication & Brand News™.
This merge reflects the reality of today’s markets and technologies, where tax stamp and traceability systems are extending beyond excisable goods (in particular tobacco and alcohol) to a wider range of products. In parallel, these systems are embracing additional functions for product authentication and supply chain visibility, which takes them well beyond their original tax collection role.
Similarly, brand owners are increasingly seeking smart solutions that combine authentication, traceability, and consumer engagement, and that enable brands to comply with regulations such as the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products.
Bringing these different dynamics together under the TSAN banner provides governments, brand owners, technology providers, and enforcement agencies with a more streamlined source of news and analysis with regard to this rapidly evolving and converging landscape.
TSAN is delivered as a monthly, 12-page publication, supported by a dedicated website and weekly news updates.
Editorial Team
The editor of TSAN is Nicola Sudan, Regional Director of Reconnaissance International, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Nicola is also General Secretary of the International Tax Stamp Association.
Joining Nicola is Chander S Jeena, the main editorial contributor to TSAN on the brand protection side. Chander is Regional Director of Reconnaissance, based in New Delhi, India, as well as being General Secretary of the International Optical Technologies Association.
In addition, Chander is a member of TSAN’s editorial board of advisors, comprising experts in tax stamps, secure track and trace, authentication technologies, and supply chain control systems.
The other board members consist of:
Aftab Baloch – former senior official at Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue, where he drove institutional reform, tax modernisation, and economic policy.
Sven Bergmann – founder and CEO of Venture Global, serving Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and government agencies in corporate strategy, brand protection, anti-illicit trade, and external affairs.
Ian Lancaster – Founder and former Managing Director of Reconnaissance, and project leader for ISO 22382, the international tax stamp standard.
Francisco Mandiola – former Managing Director of Casa de Moneda, Chile’s national mint, where he was influential in the country’s adoption of cigarette tax stamps.
Astrid Mitchell – Chief Executive of Reconnaissance and editor of Currency News™, TSAN’s sister publication.
What Tax Stamp & Authentication News Covers
- News, comment and analysis on two different, yet converging sectors: government-led tax stamp and traceability programmes that span entire markets, and authentication solutions that protect specific brands
- Next-generation physical and digital technologies for authentication, fiscal verification and supply chain security – AI, IoT, quantum computing, nano technologies
- Extension of authentication solutions into sustainability, consumer engagement, and other applications
- Policy and regulatory updates
- Case studies
- Profiles of organisations involved in specifying, supplying and using tax stamp, track and trace, and product authentication systems
- Market projections
- Illicit trade statistics and seizures
Who Should Read Tax Stamp & Authentication News
- Treasury departments and revenue agencies
- Customs and excise officials
- Brand owners
- Tobacco and alcohol regulators
- Law enforcement agencies
- Investigative services
- Anti-illicit trade and IP organisations
- NGOs, IGOs and academics concerned with public health and confronting illicit trade
- Manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers of tobacco and alcohol products
- Tax stamp system and equipment manufacturers
- Security printers and integrators
- Labelling companies and packaging converters
- Suppliers of security substrates, authentication and serialisation technologies
- Suppliers of integrated excise tax administration and traceability systems
- R&D, scientific and technical development organisations
