Looking back over the year that was, a number of developments stand out in different areas: namely mergers and acquisitions, the growth in illicit vapes, the integration of tax stamps into wider e-governance programmes, and a greater focus on sustainability in tax stamps. In the meantime, the ongoing rollout of national tobacco track and trace systems under the WHO FCTC Protocol continues at a sluggish pace.

In October, 40 participants turned up for the latest International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) webinar, which was in Spanish only and directed towards tax and customs authorities across Latin America.

The global software engineering company ELEKS has been awarded a tender to develop Ukraine’s ‘e-Excise’ tax stamp and traceability programme for tobacco and alcohol products.

KPMG has released its latest annual study on illicit cigarettes in Europe1, commissioned by Philip Morris Products SA. The study shows that while illicit consumption in the 27 EU member states declined by 0.6 billion sticks in 2023, to reach 35.2 billion, overall illicit consumption in the 38 markets covered by the study rose by 3%, reaching 52.2 billion sticks.

Combining physical and digital elements on tax stamps ensures that the strengths of both are exploited, and the weaknesses of each are covered. The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is pleased to announce the launch of a social media campaign examining the topic in depth, featuring quotes from industry insiders and stories from around the world that demonstrate the strength of a ‘phygital’ approach.

As has thankfully become a bit of a tradition again, post-COVID, ITSA (International Tax Stamp Association) recently held a pre-conference seminar on the occasion of the High Security Printing™ Latin America conference, which this year took place in Santiago, Chile.

In a rapidly evolving excise landscape in which counterfeit goods and tax evasion pose major challenges, the incorporation of both physical and digital elements on tax stamps has emerged as a critical strategy for governments and businesses alike.

At the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference in April, Michael Natan, President of Diametryx Inc, presented this new company’s intriguing colour-change particles for use as an overt security feature.

In our third 2024 interview with a member of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), we speak to Marietta Ulrich- Horn, Co-Founder and CEO of Securikett.

Some years ago, I was asked to give a speech to a Latin American country’s customs authority with respect to fuel marking. To prepare for my presentation, I spoke to several suppliers and did some research with respect to alternatives and positive results around the world.