The purpose of this article is to outline the reasons we should look at the technologies being deployed for recycling as a potential opportunity. We will look at three technologies in various states of development and set them in context of our industry.

A number of new tax stamp launches have been reported recently in the media. On 1 January 2022, Bulgaria will introduce new stamps on tobacco products, with stamps for bottled alcohol beverages following three months later.

Bahrain’s National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) and the General Tax Authority (GTA) of Qatar have recently announced the signature of new contracts with De La Rue for the provision of national digital tax stamp and traceability programmes on a number of excise goods.

Nepal has been using excise stamps (hereinafter referred to as tax stamps) for more than two decades now, with the stamps effectively contributing to government tax revenue. Indeed, every year, the Nepalese government generates 57 billion Nepalese rupees ($477 million) from excise duty, value-added tax, and health hazard tax imposed on cigarettes and alcohol.

A comprehensive new e-library focusing on tobacco taxation and illicit trade has been launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Knowledge Hub at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP). A project two-and-a-half-years in the making, it is set to be a valuable resource for students, researchers and policymakers across the globe.

​At the beginning of January, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), began a month-long training workshop on the procedures and processes leading to the implementation of excise tax stamps on several products sold on the Liberian market, reports LRA on its Facebook page.

The National Office of Vine and Vitivinicultural Products (ONVPV) in Romania is using holographic labelling from security printer Eltronis to promote the provenance of its regional wines and protect consumers from potential counterfeits.

In January 2019, Tanzania rolled out the first phase of its ‘Electronic Tax Stamp’ (ETS) programme, on cigarettes, spirits, wine and beer, followed seven months later by domestic and imported flavoured water and carbonated drinks.

The West African country of Liberia will this year be introducing tax stamps for the first time. In the second quarter of 2020, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) awarded a contract to Madras Security Printers for tax stamps on tobacco products, spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages.