Following the news from the UK that tougher sanctions are being introduced on illicit tobacco sellers, this article takes a closer look at the close-knit network of organisations engaged in tackling illicit trade at retail level in the country.

Established in 1952, the WCO (World Customs Organisation) is the global centre of customs experience, representing 185 customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade.

Smoke Free Partnership, a coalition of NGOs working on EU policy analysis and advocacy linked to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), has published a report by Luk Joossens, Senior Advisor, on the status of track and trace in countries that are party to the FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

KPMG has released the 2023 edition of its annual study, ‘Illicit Cigarette Consumption in the EU, UK, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova and Ukraine’, which reveals an overall increasing rate of illicit consumption in the region, especially in France.

Earlier this year, in an update on Latin America in this same newsletter, we posited that Argentina’s AFIP (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos), the government institution in charge of the country’s tax policies, would be toughening up its stance against illicit tobacco trade and tax evasion.

In the May 2023 issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we reported on how the tobacco lobbying concerns of several EU parliament members were largely being ignored by the European Commission.

Cambodia has revealed the features of its new cigarette tax stamps to vendors in prime locations across the country, thanks to a joint effort between the General Department of Taxation (GDT) and the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), reports Khmer Times.

One of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) celebrates its 20th anniversary in May 2023.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Lebanon was guest of honour at the recent launch of a countrywide authentication and traceability programme to combat tobacco illicit trade and promote economic reform.

In January, more than 60 officers from the French National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale) raided a location in France, which was found to be an underground factory for counterfeit tobacco. The investigation was initiated as a result of information shared with France by Europol at the end of 2022.