Following the implementation of its automated marking system in September 2020, the Togolese revenue authority, l’Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), has reported a substantial increase in excise collections.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has claimed a staggering ZAR 19 billion ($1.28 billion) in unpaid taxes from just one company, Verbena Freight and Logistics Management, which has since been accused of tobacco smuggling. Most of the outstanding amount relates to customs duties.

Four countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam – could have collected an additional $4.81 billion in tax revenue over the last two years and prevented more than 1.3 million premature deaths, if they had had an effective tobacco tax policy in place, claims a recent study released by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA).

In last month’s Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we published the first of a two-part review of tax stamps and traceability programmes in Latin America. This month, we give a brief update on Central American countries, together with more in-depth coverage of Costa Rica and Ecuador, where there have been several key developments.

It is no secret that the world, and the Latin American region in particular, has faced many negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recent news that Nigeria is considering the introduction of excise tax on telecommunication airtime charges, in a bid to raise additional revenues, has prompted stakeholders to question whether excise taxes are actually appropriate for this sector.

The growth of informal economic activity has become a challenge throughout the Latin American region. To address this, the Swiss-Chilean Chamber of Commerce recently held a webinar to discuss the challenges of informality (in employment, government, taxation), as well as the actions that policymakers, in the region and elsewhere, could take to halt an increasing trend resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s not often that we hear members of the tobacco industry complaining that a tax authority is not issuing tax stamps – in fact, the complaints are usually because the opposite is true.

During March and early April, De La Rue ran its inaugural Excise Tax Protection Course. The six-module course, delivered as online seminars, was aimed at government excise managers and professionals and was by invitation only. De La Rue plans for the course to become an annual event.

When it comes to the effective storage and management of data, it should be recognised that security, flexibility, and efficiency are key. Increasingly, governments, businesses, and organisations around the world are exploring cloud-based computing options as a complement – or alternative – to more traditional, on-premises hardware and software solutions. For tax administrators, the ongoing shift presents both opportunities and unique challenges.