This article is the third in a series on the topic of illicit trade and its relationship with free trade zones (FTZs). It is intended to foster consideration and discussion for secure traceability solutions, building upon the analyses provided in the articles published in this newsletter in March and August 2023.

Looking back over the year that was, three key developments stand out from the rest, as captured in this article.

While tax stamps often use diffractive effects to protect against counterfeiting, the process for making these stamps can often be time consuming and limited to printing firms with specialist equipment. But that could be about to change!

The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has announced it will be expanding the use of excise tax stamps to a broader range of excisable products beyond cigarettes, following a 2021 amendment to the country’s Customs and Excise Act.

Tax stamp and traceability developments in Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela; Kenya Revenue Authority seeks tax stamp price increase in bid to grow revenue collection;

This month, we are pleased to present the latest entry in our ongoing interview series exploring the professional perspectives of International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) members.

Never a dull day in Latin America! The recent general election in Argentina saw flamboyant libertarian Javier Milei ascend to the presidency, with a promise to re-invent the Argentine economic wheel by eliminating not only the Argentina peso, but also many ministries and thousands of government employees.

In the February issue of Authentication & Brand News™, we asked whether EU digital product passports (DPPs) could double as anti-counterfeiting devices, in addition to their primary role of gathering information about a product and its supply chain in order to support the transition to a circular economy.

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) Excellence in Holography awards recognises those at the forefront of developing innovative or commercially viable holography products or techniques.

During a recent webinar hosted by De La Rue on the subject of what motivates the adoption of a brand protection solution, Bea Morrison, Director of Marketing of the distinguished British beauty brand Mason Pearson spoke about her company’s decision to implement a comprehensive solution against parallel trade.

The Pharmacy Service Program of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia is extending its contract with Techno Secure Print for the supply of holographic safety labels on all of the country’s registered pharmaceutical products.

T-shirts, stamps and gold – the new world of authentication; stand- out developments in 2022 and beyond; authenticating everything from fuel to banknotes.

Founded in 1971, Perum Peruri (trade name Peruri) was originally known as the ‘money-printing public corporation of the Republic of Indonesia’. Its main task was to print rupiah banknotes as well as other state-owned security documents, including excise stamps, passports, and land documents.

Science and technology group Merck and micro-transponder producer p-Chip Corp have formed an alliance to use p-Chip’s technology as a crypto-anchor (unique identifier) for creating digital twins of physical products, allowing them to be tracked and authenticated through the supply chain.

Ferrari has launched a public reward scheme to crack down on counterfeit products carrying its iconic branding. The scheme involves offering Ferrari gifts to individuals who report products that may be counterfeit or in violation of Ferrari trademarks.

An online recruitment ad in China recently garnered a lot of attention by announcing that couriers were needed to smuggle semiconductor chips, 5kg at a time, into China, with the chips having been illegally rerouted from the US.

De La Rue has announced a partnership with C3i Europe Ltd, the intelligence-driven company engaged in combating global grey market activities.

Authentication and anti-counterfeit technologies rely heavily on inks and surfaces that produce colour, sending visual signals to the viewer to help differentiate between real and fake products. But in a world where toxin additives in manufacturing processes are becoming increasingly unacceptable, we take a look at two companies that are developing a new generation of sustainable colour.

OpSec Group has completed the acquisition of Global Trim Sales, Inc, a provider of premium trim to the fashion and apparel industry, based in California. This acquisition will extend the OpSec brand enhancement offering in the consumer goods and sports industries.

Royal Joh Enschedé, an Authentix company, has unveiled its first crypto stamp produced for Deutsche Post, the postal organisation of Germany.

In August, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a one-year delay in enforcing the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) electronic tracking rules until November 2024, in order to provide a 12-month stabilisation period to aid compliance.

In one of the largest seizures of counterfeit goods in US history, Homeland Security and New York City police recently took possession of fake bags, clothes, shoes, and other luxury products, worth $1.03 billion.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have developed a rubber-like colour-changing system called Morphable Concavity Array (MoCA), with the potential to bestow robots with compound vision, similar to an insect.

Digital watermarking specialist Digimarc Corporation has announced that France will be the first country to implement Digimarc Recycle on a nationwide basis, for the sorting and recycling of plastic waste.

As the world’s largest sporting goods retailer – in addition to manufacturing its own sports products – Decathlon has revolutionised its operations over the past 10 years by implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on every piece of merchandise in its vast inventory.

Reconnaissance has issued a call for papers for the High Security Printing™ EMEA, which takes place 4-6 March 2023, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The NFC Forum, the leading standards body for near field communication (NFC) technology, has organised a 50-minute webinar titled ‘The Circular Economy Redefined – NFC & the Digital Product Passport’ , scheduled for 5 December 2023.

At the recent Anti-Counterfeiting World Law Summit, in London, Vincent Helluy, Head of Illicit Trade Risk Management – Content & Brand Protection at Forward Global spoke about brand protection field operations in Africa.

Manoj Kochar, Director of Holoflex, has been elected as the new president of the India-based Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA).

Singapore is making amendments to its Free Trade Zones Act to enhance regulation and control of goods that flow through the 10 free trade zones (FTZs) in the country.

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has revealed that the country’s fuel marking and quality monitoring programme has led to a drastic reduction in fuel adulteration, from 30% in 2015 to less than 0.5% this year.

Recently, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Tabaconomía, a tobacco control think-tank that is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies, held a webinar to discuss the status of tobacco taxation post-COVID-19.

Demax Holograms was one of the first manufacturers of security holograms in eastern Europe and now sells its products to over 70 different countries. It took the opportunity to present its latest nano-optical elements for physical security at the recent Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ in Tbilisi, Georgia (2-4 October 2023).

In early October, the Georgia Revenue Service (GRS) co-hosted the Tax Stamp and Traceability Forum™ with Reconnaissance International to showcase the success of its local solution and discuss the latest developments in the industry.

With three new companies recently added to the growing membership base of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), the total number of members now stands at 28 – the highest level yet!

The 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), and the Third session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP3) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, has been postponed from November 2023 to as early as possible in 2024.

During the summer of 2021, I looked at the illicit trade that had started to spin out of control in Australia in the wake of the pandemic.

During the recent Luxe Pack Monaco trade show for creative packaging, TOPPAN showcased a range of NFC solutions, including its new NFC tag for contactless detection of the volume of liquid inside a container, targeting the cosmetics, medical, pharmaceutical, and liquor industries.

New York-based Token, the provider of wearable authentication solutions, has begun production of its smart ring in the United States.

The organiser of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conferences, Reconnaissance International, has announced the programme for the upcoming HSP Asia event, which takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 4-6 December 2023.

The war in Ukraine has brought to the fore how difficult it is to differentiate between genuine photos and fakes these days, now that we can use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create make-believe images.

A number of key themes emerged from the presentations, panel discussion, and workshops at the recent Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF) held in October, in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In the September 2023 issue of Authentication & Brand News™, we examined how Parmigiano Reggiano, the iconic Italian cheese, has embraced modern technology by embedding edible microchips into its 40kg cheese wheels to combat counterfeiting.

Anti-counterfeiting efforts have become a cost of doing business; brands are outsourcing their anti-counterfeiting activities to professional advisors, law firms, investigators, and technology companies; and only 40% of brands are actually using authentication features.

German multinational engineering and technology company Bosch has entered the brand protection arena with Origify, a solution that optically captures a product’s unique ‘fingerprint’ in order to authenticate and trace it through the supply chain.

The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) has responded to a claim by economic advisory firm Oxford Economics (OE) that tax stamp-based track and trace systems are not compatible with the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, while ‘fully digital’ solutions, based on open standards, are.

Oumolat Security Printing, owned by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), has entered into a strategic partnership with SICPA to print enhanced tax stamps and track activities through the integration of advanced technologies.

As previously reported in Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, the international standard for excise tax stamps, ISO 22382:2018, is now due its five- year review, in accordance with ISO procedures (the International Organization for Standards).

One of the best comments coming out of the 11th Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF), held from 2-4 October in Tbilisi, Georgia, was from a revenue authority attending the forum for the first time. They said that now that they’d seen first-hand what they’d been missing by not attending this event, they would be sure to attend all security printing conferences in future.

This month, we have a new entry in our ongoing interview series investigating the experiences of International Tax Stamp Association members, diving into their personal perspectives on the tax industry, today’s challenges and opportunities, and tomorrow’s potential advances.

The governor of California, USA, has approved a law to eliminate single-use plastic RFID tags for tracking and tracing marijuana plants.

Koenig & Bauer Banknotes Solutions (KBBS) is forging ahead with its agenda to create physical-digital technology bridges with the announcement of two new partnerships linked to digital authentication.

In May, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invited feedback from stakeholders on current and future strategies to prevent counterfeiting and piracy.

With the launch of the iPhone 15 series, Apple has introduced new measures to thwart scammers. These features can be quickly verified by buyers and sellers to ensure they have authentic iPhone packaging.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has designated blockchain start-up FPT Software Europe as the lead organisation for a project known as VIRTUA.

The Australian government has announced another AUD 11 million ($7 million) in funding via grants to boost Australia's agricultural traceability systems.

Smart packaging is a term that means different things to different communities, and this article aims to take a wider look at trends in smart packaging and consider some of the potential implications for authentication and brand protection.

In an open letter, 130 global fashion and sportswear-related organisations, including the Apparel and Footwear Association and the International Apparel Federation, have called for digital labelling to reduce waste and increase consumer access to information.

Meta Materials, under its former name of Nanotech Security Corporation, has been a pioneer in banknote OVD technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano- and now plasmonic structures.

Now that the Indian government has introduced mandatory QR codes on drugs, the country’s pharmaceutical companies are moving forward with implementing these codes.

Reconnaissance International is pleased to announce the release of its new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference, which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal from 8-10 April 2024, has released a call for papers.

In a move that blends ancient culinary tradition with 21st-century innovation, Italian cheesemakers have turned to technology for a solution to their counterfeiting woes, by embedding edible microchips into their 40kg cheese wheels.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have introduced a pilot traceability programme to track the origin and carbon footprint of each dragon fruit planted in the southern province of Bình Thuận, Vietnam.

As a large number of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ readers are already aware, tobacco and alcohol producers spend significant amounts of time and effort lobbying against the installation of tax stamp and traceability systems that are fully managed by national revenue authorities.

This month, we continue our interview series exploring the experiences of International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) members, who offer personal perspectives on the tax industry, today’s challenges and opportunities, and tomorrow’s potential progress.

Nanotechnology has been a fertile breeding ground for authentication and brand protection devices – given that structures that can be controlled at the nanoscale (roughly the size of a few atoms or molecules) exhibit responses to light that are distinctive and near impossible to replicate. Now, a team of researchers and entrepreneurs has launched a new optical ink feature into the market.

Since the introduction of its digital tax stamp, tracing, and reporting programme, Uganda has experienced continuous and sustained acceptance, implementation of and compliance with the programme.

As previously announced in Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, it has been five years since the international standard for tax stamps (ISO 22382:2018) was published by the International Organization for Standards (ISO), so in accordance with ISO procedures, this standard is now due to be reviewed.

Reconnaissance International is pleased to announce the release of its new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

Whether you use tax stamps or you don’t use tax stamps, let’s face it, illicit trade still exists. The difference is, tax stamps and associated track and trace and production monitoring systems help make illicit trade stand out more (like a sore thumb), plus they make it easier to trace illicit trade back to its origin, and identify at what point in the supply chain legal trade may have become illegal trade.

Scottish leather supplier Muirhead is urging airlines to ensure the traceability of leather during procurement. The advice follows the emergence of leather suppliers whose products – despite being marketed as sustainable, ethical and European – come from a complex and blurred supply chain, with hides imported from as far as South America.

Nike is conducting a pilot programme with AntChain for a new sneaker featuring an NFC chip. The programme enables consumers to access product origin information by tapping their smartphone against an NFC chip on the sneaker.

While all counterfeit goods potentially pose a risk for consumers and companies, that risk becomes amplified when we talk about products made by Cisco, one of the largest technology companies in the world, best known for its networking products.

The WCO (World Customs Organisation) has released its 2022 Illicit Trade Report (ITR), showing an increasing trend in illicit trade.

Nanobrick, the South Korean company founded in 2007 by its current CEO, Jae-Hyun Joo, is building a presence in the security and authentication field with what it calls its ‘active nano platform’ (ANP).

A new report by Watchfinder & Co, a luxury pre-owned watch specialist, revealed that 14% of British collectors have counterfeit timepieces in their rotations. Specifically, the research identified a staggering total of 1,010,572 watches.

Solution providers, experts, and revenue authorities from around the world have confirmed their speaking slot at Reconnaissance International’s Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™, taking place in Tbilisi, Georgia from 2-4 October 2023.

De La Rue has announced a 3-year extension to its partnership with Mason Pearson, the distinguished British beauty brand.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has unveiled EBSI-ELSA, its new brand name for the European Logistics Services Authentication (ELSA) initiative for products within the global supply chain (using the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure), EBSI.

Exploiting the uniqueness derived from the inherent randomness of industrial processes is not a new approach for anti-counterfeiting technologies, but a new breed of physically unclonable functions (PUFs) might just be a step too far for counterfeiters to spoof.

In the ABN March 2023 issue, we looked at four developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting. As companies continue their anti-counterfeiting advancement, we look at a few more developments in this area, covering overt and covert features and digital traceability.

This month, we continue our interview series exploring the experiences of International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) members, who offer their perspective on the tax stamp industry, and their predictions of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

It is International Standards Organization (ISO) practice to review its standards every five years. So, ISO 22382, titled ‘Guidelines for the content, security, issuance, and examination of excise tax stamps’, which was published in 2018, will now go through this regular review.

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.

This article is second in a series that aims to educate readers on the dynamic nature of free trade zones (FTZs) and key issues that warrant addressing, and offers a means by which suppliers of secure track and trace technologies may find opportunities in this potential new market. The first article can be found in the March 2023 issue of this newsletter.

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.

Smart packaging is a term that means different things to different communities. The aim of this article is to take a wider look at trends in smart packaging and consider some of the potential implications for tax stamps and track and trace solutions.

Leonardo Abdias, Director of Innovation and Markets at the Brazilian Mint (Casa da Moeda do Brasil – CMB) has announced measures to combat the illegal gold trade in the country, during an event held in May titled ‘Ways of Gold: the importance of traceability to prevent illegality and irregular extraction’.

High security printing is based on features made available exclusively for that market. In the case of special inks, for example, this includes pigments with several modes of fluorescence, rare earth pigments, or different types of color shifting.

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.

While, as individuals, we all use fingerprint biometrics in our routine life to unlock a phone or the door to the office, verify identities, and gain access to restricted areas, the tech giants have a different agenda. Various cases have been reported globally using palm vein technology for payments in the last few months.

It has been 10 years since a UK parliamentary committee reported on the meat contamination scandal that hit media headlines in 2013.

With their sights firmly set on a future with no counterfeiting in it, more than 150 delegates came together for the 5th edition of the Traceability and Authentication Forum (TAF), held on 6-7 July, in New Delhi, India.

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI), in Germany, has developed a method that could make it more difficult to counterfeit products. The new and patented method makes it possible to produce unique, non-copyable, environment-friendly fluorescent patterns, quickly and at low cost.

A strange feature of the molecular building blocks of human (and other species) biology is that at a molecular level they exhibit a behaviour called ‘chirality’ – from the Greek word for handedness. Just like your right hand mirrors your left but will never fit comfortably into a left-handed glove, amino acids and sugars come in both right- and left-handed versions.

De La Rue has announced that its Authentication division is on track to exceed £100 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024, demonstrating good growth versus 2023 results, and making it the fastest growing division in the company.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference – the technical event for physical, digital and virtual document security – is now calling for papers.

The third session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP3) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will take place on 27-30 November in Panama, and the provisional agenda has now been released.

Nanobrick, the South Korean company founded in 2007 by its current CEO, Jae-Hyun Joo, is building a presence in the security and authentication field with what it calls its ‘active nano platform’ (ANP). Tax stamps are one of its target markets.

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.

India’s government banknote printer, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL), is looking to target the tax stamp export market. The organisation is inviting bids for consultants or agencies to represent it globally for procurements related to excise labels and other security products, including banknotes, coins, security paper, and inks.

At the recent World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council session, in Brussels, Edward Kieswetter, Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), was elected as chairperson of the Council, replacing Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Director General of Bahrain Customs.

Revenue authorities, experts, and solution providers from around the world have confirmed their speaking slot at the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum, taking place in Tbilisi, Georgia from 2-4 October 2023.

This month, we present the sixth interview with an International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) member, providing their perspective on the present opportunities and challenges of the industry, and the developments they anticipate for its future.

De La Rue has announced that its Authentication division is on track to exceed £100 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024, demonstrating good growth versus 2023 results.

The authentication and brand protection industries are not known, for obvious reasons, for their willingness to share information. But a chance meeting at a Reconnaissance conference between a client and supplier is beginning to bear fruit.

Digimarc Corporation has signed a significant new contract to safeguard the integrity of a nationwide deposit-return recycling system and the authenticity of precious metals and construction materials.

Fedrigoni Group, a leader in the production of value-added speciality papers for luxury packaging and other applications, along-with self-adhesive materials for premium labels, has introduced a range of paper products and self-adhesive materials for brand protection in the commercial sector.

Meta Materials Inc (previously Nanotech Security Corp) has been a pioneer in optically variable device technology for the past decade, with innovations in micro, nano, and now plasmonic structures. The company has also developed in-house secure foil production so that it can offer banknote stripes direct to customers.

Leibinger, the third generation family-owned German coding and marking systems company, used the interpack trade show in Düsseldorf to launch IQJET, which it describes as the ‘world’s first intelligent coding and marking system for products and packaging’.

International security technology group Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has acquired MECOMO AG, a specialist in tracking and tracing solutions, with the contract signed in May.

Structural colours (surfaces structured to control the interference of light), featured strongly in the ‘New Optical Techniques for Security’ section of the Optical & Digital Document Security™ conference (ODDS), which took place in Prague, Czech Republic, in April 2023.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is inviting feedback from stakeholders on ways to prevent counterfeiting and piracy.

According to the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, the imaging consumables industry is threatened by a €1.6 billion market in counterfeit supplies. Unfortunately, the problem of counterfeiting in this industry is nothing new.

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.

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.

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.

As the first G20 nation to legalise recreational cannabis, Canada is well-placed to set the regulatory blueprint for the world. But there are still kinks to be ironed out, including a call by operators for a single national excise stamp to replace the current provincial stamps.

High security printing is based on features made available exclusively for that market. In the case of special inks, for example, this includes pigments with several modes of fluorescence, rare earth pigments, or different types of color shifting.

A little over two years ago, Costa Rica was in the throes of allegations by TRACIT (Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade) that the best way to fight illicit tobacco trade was through a close collaboration between private sector companies (eg. tobacco producers) and the public sector.

Authentix has announced that it has acquired Netherlands-based Royal Joh Enschedé, a leading specialty printing and security solutions provider, from investment firm Nimbus.

OpSec Group has announced that it will list on the NASDAQ stock exchange by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp. The SPAC is an arm of OpSec’s current owners – the private equity firm Investcorp Technology Partners.

The programme for the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF) is almost finalised and includes some interesting presentations by tax authorities and solution providers alike.

We continue our interview series exploring the perspective of International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) members, who offer some of their experiences within the tax stamp industry, and their predictions of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

A collaborative research team from three universities has fabricated a 3D printed nano optical security label that provides 33 to the power of 100 possible combinations for security in optical anti-counterfeiting. (Author’s note: this figure, though unconfirmed, is significantly higher than the number of combinations in the MIT article.)

With regulatory frameworks on critical raw materials (CRMs) high on the European economic and political agenda, the European Union has launched the project ‘MaDiTraCe’ (material and digital traceability for the certification of critical raw materials).

CSM Tech, an Indian IT consulting company, has signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the Ministry of Economy and Recovery in Gabon to implement a forest e-governance system, along with log timber traceability and an electronic timber trade platform.

Eluceda has developed a rapid and portable solution to identify counterfeit human growth hormones (hgH), also known as Somatropin.

A variety of new security features for banknotes have been launched this year, some of which may well find their way into or be adapted for use in other documents requiring protection against counterfeiting.

In the mid-2010s, a series of large agriscience companies introduced a range of technologies to help tackle counterfeit agricultural products. Among them was Supply Chain Track and Trace (SCTT) and Innovative Product Label Technology, both from BASF, together with DuPont’s Izon® holographic label and Bayer CropScience’s mobile app.

Reconnaissance International, publisher of Authentication & Brand News™ (ABN), is delighted to announce that Chander S Jeena has recently joined the company as Regional Director and co-editor of ABN.

IN Groupe, global specialist in identities and digital services, has signed an agreement with UK-based Portals, supplier of security features and paper, for the sale of Portals’ security components business in Bollate, Italy.

India’s pharmaceutical industry is vital to global healthcare as it is the largest supplier of low-cost generics, vaccines, and affordable HIV medicines, as well as the third largest supplier in terms of volume, and 14th in terms of value.

As the traditional linear 1D barcode celebrates its 50th birthday, its days could be numbered now that GS1 – the global body responsible for barcode standards – prepares for the worldwide acceptance of younger, 2D codes in retail outlets by the end of 2027.

In April, the Informal European Parliamentary Working Group for preparing the revision of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (IPWG TPD) held a workshop with civil society organisations, to address the lobbying efforts and ‘soft power’ of the tobacco industry to influence EU policies.

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.

The programme for the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF) is busy taking shape, with the call for papers deadline coming up at the end of May.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has announced that new excise stamps for tobacco and alcohol will be introduced in the country from 1 March 2025, and that they will be linked to the country’s extensive e-governance platform.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance plans to increase excise tax revenue by three to four times through the implementation of excise stamps, traceability, and an advanced excise management system.

We continue our series of interviews with members of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), by talking with Gábor Zsámboki from ANY Security Printing in Hungary.

The Switzerland-based Thymaris group is a second-generation family business that has been operating since 2000. The business provides integrated authentication technologies (software and machines) on a global scale. Its mission is to close the security gap in existing barcode serialisation infrastructures.

This article explores the concepts and current thinking related to AI and the author has a chat with AI to find out what AI ‘thinks’ about tax stamps.

This month, we continue our series of interviews with members of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), who share their experiences of the tax stamp industry and look ahead to some of the challenges and opportunities yet to come.

Tobacco stakeholders and the European Commission disagree over the practical value of the EU track and trace system on tobacco products, implemented across all member states in May 2019 as part of the Tobacco Products Directive, reports EURACTIV.

At its recent conference held in April, the US Tax Foundation, which is the nation’s leading independent body on tax policy, presented research on some of the most pressing issues in global taxation, including global minimum tax, carbon tax, and excise tax.

Authentix has announced that it has acquired Netherlands-based Royal Joh Enschedé, a leading specialty printing and security solutions provider, from investment firm Nimbus.

The E4S OriginAll Luxury Transparency and Traceability Index, aka THE INDEX, is the world's first platform for measuring how effectively luxury brands are using technology to increase transparency and traceability, with a particular focus on technologies that enhance product security and product data.

While the traditional linear 1D barcode celebrates its 50th birthday, its days could be numbered as GS1 – the global body responsible for barcode standards – prepares for the worldwide acceptance of younger, 2D codes in retail outlets by the end of 2027.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ conference and tabletop exhibition, held in Prague, Czech Republic from 17-19 April 2023, attracted 172 delegates from 94 global organisations, along with 24 representatives from government and research academia.

Continuing its fight against counterfeiting in India, the Authentication Solution Providers' Association, in partnership with Messe Frankfurt India, has announced the next chapter of its flagship event, the Traceability & Authentication Forum.

Hong Kong-based NanoMatriX has introduced a new high-security ink – called MatriX-Intaglio – aimed at protecting documents and currency from counterfeiting.

In April, Amazon released its third annual brand protection report, with an update of activities to ensure authenticity of goods sold in its store, and to fight bad actors.

Brand protection specialist OpSec Security has acquired Zacco, an intellectual property management and protection company headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark and has announced that it is going for a public listing later this year.

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.

This article represents the first in a series that aims to educate readers on the dynamic nature of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and key issues that need addressing, as well as, ideally, offer a means by which suppliers of secure track and trace technologies can address this heretofore untapped potential new market.

This month, we continue our series of interviews with members of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), who share their experiences of the tax stamp industry and look ahead to some of the challenges and opportunities yet to come.

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.

Every year, on 24 February, India observes Central Excise Day, as a way of highlighting the essential role of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in the country’s industrial development.

De La Rue has announced the multi-year extension of tax stamp/security seal contracts across nine countries in Europe and Africa.

The Austrian security label producer Securikett has, for the first time, succeeded in creating a fully transparent label with an impressive opening effect.

In September this year, Reconnaissance International will release a new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

Paris is widely regarded as one of the global centres of the branded beauty, luxury, premium drinks, and personal care markets. So, it makes sense that secure packaging producers Toppan, and its Düsseldorf-based subsidiary Toppan Europe, chose Paris Packaging Week (25-26 January) to showcase its range of brand authentication packaging products.

AGMA, the Alliance for Grey Market and Counterfeit Abatement, is an alliance of intellectual property (IP) rights holders, with combined annual revenues in excess of $425 billion, who recognise that IP protection is a fundamental element of innovation and economic growth.

The UAE has officially launched its national drug tracking system under the name of ‘Tatmeen’.

A research group in China has come up with a novel approach to product authentication, with a label that can be internally heated to reveal a changing image.

The counterfeiting of money has been going on ever since the invention of physical money around the 6th century BC. In this article, we take a look at four new developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting.

Metal packaging is used around the world to transport and display everything from coconut milk to alcoholic beverages. One US rigid packaging company is winning accolades for protecting brands from counterfeiting while at the same time reducing the resources it uses.

Most books that I have written about in Authentication & Brand News™ (ABN) are of interest because they examine the problem of counterfeit products or consider how brand owners can fight against these counterfeits.

The Brandr Group (TBG) – a group licensing agency that helps US college athletes capitalise on name, image, and likeness (NIL) licensing opportunities on branded apparel – has launched a security and identity programme called Licensed Player Product.

In September this year, Reconnaissance International will release a new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

Professor of Polymer Chemistry Markus Gallei and his doctoral student Lukas Siegwardt, from Saarland University, Germany, have created ‘perfect polymer particles’ (ie. particles of an identical size and shape) with a hard centre and soft shell, for building 3D-printed structurally coloured objects – something that has not up to now been possible.

Through a partnership with HP Indigo, the copy-protected, direct-print ValiGate® QR code from SCRIBOS (a KURZ company), can now be used as a plug-in for HP digital presses worldwide.

The programme for the second Optical and Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference is now available, demonstrating the importance of this event in uniting people involved in developing digital systems for authentication and brand protection with the more traditional security document community. The conference will be on 17-19 April 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic.

US supply chain security company Overhaul has acquired SensiGuard, which offers a system that monitors cargo in real time, while shipments are in transit from origin to destination, using tracker devices embedded in pallets.

The EU is currently reviewing its circular economy rules, with the intention of making green products the norm in the bloc’s single market.

Luminescence Sun Chemical Security (LSCS) is part of the Sun Chemical global security solutions business unit, specialising in inks, pigments and coatings-based authentication solutions. In January 2023, LSCS acquired InData System’s (InData) patented invisible barcode reading technology, which consists of a variety of dedicated readers that can verify and decode ‘invisible’ fluorescent codes.

In March 2022’s edition of Authentication & Brand News™, a technical feature looked at how digital watermark specialist Digimarc was working on invisible watermarks that could increase plastic recycling. The technology from Digimarc is amongst a basket of innovations that sit at the overlap between authentication and sustainability – in this case giving plastic packaging a ‘voice’.

With headquarters in Rochester (NY), VerifyMe provides comprehensive brand protection and customer engagement solutions that combine secure product authentication, intelligent track and trace, and tailored communication strategies with industry-leading online retail monitoring capabilities.

In this publication last month an article covered the resources available for the testing of the cameras in smartphones. Building on that, the purpose of this article is to examine some of the technologies that are now appearing in leading edge smartphone cameras.

Nanotechnology has been a fertile breeding ground for authentication and brand protection devices – given that structures that can be controlled at the nanoscale (roughly the size of a few atoms or molecules) exhibit responses to light that are distinctive and near impossible to replicate. Now, a team of researchers and entrepreneurs is set to launch a new optical ink feature into the market.

In 2020, Crane Currency – banknote papermaker, printer and developer of security features – launched a new business, Crane Authentication, to offer brand protection solutions based on its micro-optics technology. In this opinion article from Richard Einhorn, the case is made that customers should expect authenticity to be factored in to their buying experience and that Crane Authentication’s PROFOUND™ technology is helping brands deliver on this.

In recognition of the fact that while transactions may be conducted digitally most products are still physical, online resale platform StockX has opened a new authentication centre in Mexico City.

Secure marking and excise taxes operate hand in glove. But excise duties usually account for a small percentage of countries’ overall tax take.

The Gambia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, in partnership with the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), has signed a concession agreement with SICPA for the implementation of a revenue mobilisation platform for excisable goods, telecommunication services, and refined fuels.

It’s not all about new constitutions, riots and uncontrollable forest fires lately in Chile. There’s actually been some interesting news with respect to traceability, with press releases from both the tax authority, Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), and the national customs service, Aduanas de Chile.

In India, each state has the power to control and regulate its own liquor trade. Given that the country comprises 29 states and seven union territories, each with their own set of laws, this presents a major challenge for the alcoholic beverage industry – a challenge that is further exacerbated by the limitations placed on the movement of alcohol between states.

Gerben van Wijk is Sales and Marketing Director of Luminescence Sun Chemical Security (LSCS) and has been a Board Member of the International Tax Stamp Association since 2018, taking over as Chair in May 2022.

This short series on emerging technologies was a result of presentations made at the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF), in May 2022. This final article in the series picks up on one theme not yet covered – the topic of substrates. But first we should consider why this debate should be defined as an emerging technology.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ will take place from 2-4 October 2023, in the wonderful city of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Luminescence Sun Chemical Security (LSCS) has acquired InData System’s (InData) patented invisible barcode reading technology, which consists of dedicated readers that verify and decode ‘invisible’ (fluorescing) codes.

Readers of Authentication & Brand News™ will most likely be aware of Texas-based Authentix’s work with national governments providing fuel marking services, but perhaps you’re not so familiar with their other activities in protecting brands and securing documents.

Looking back over the year that was, a number of key developments, covered in this newsletter during 2022, stand out in terms of their innovation and potential opportunities (or threats, as the case may be).

There are very few books to guide brand owners on their brand protection (BP) programmes, so ‘Brand Protection and the Global Risk of Product Counterfeits’ is a useful addition to that small library.

Many in our communities will be familiar with the benefits of international standards. These have figured in debates on mobile driving licences (mDL), tax stamps and now in establishing sustainability.

The business of authentication is changing. Whilst the physical objects that we used to hold as important on account of their scarcity or beauty have not lost their value, the digital and virtual worlds that are being created around us bring their own cherished icons.

Across tax and customs administrations, there are several key trends that are of some relevance to the secure marking and traceability space.

This short series on emerging technologies has covered a number of topics over previous months. It seems fitting as we commence 2023 to now consider the topic of sustainability, a ‘trending’ theme through recent years but one that I see having an increasing impact on our market sector.

Looking at the interplay of challenges arising from the implementation of Pakistan’s tax stamp and production monitoring system, during 2021 and 2022, one might say Pakistan is riding a perfect storm.

Romanian authorities are investigating China Tobacco’s main factory in Europe, outside Bucharest, in connection with the possible smuggling of large quantities of cigarettes, reports OCCRP.org.

A team from the Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology at Panjab University, India, claims to have conducted the first study of its kind to analyse cigarette filters using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in combination with statistical models.

Metrc, one of the two leading providers of technology systems for the regulation of cannabis in the United States, has announced the launch of its sustainable radio frequency identification (RFID) plant tags, designed to reduce waste while maintaining durability and RFID efficiency.

Kenyans could soon pay more for alcohol, cigarettes, juice and cosmetic products as the Kenya Revenue Authority seeks to increase the price of excise tax stamps (which are used on all of these product groups), as part of its measures to increase revenue collection.

There is a tremendous amount of activity afoot in Latin America, be it with new governments promising amazing changes amidst the reality of high inflation and worldwide economic instability, or simply because it’s time for existing governments to get back to work after the first real holiday season post-COVID.

Smartphone connectivity is something many industries take for granted. The enticing prospect of the smartphone for authentication is that the platform connects to the wider data world.

Panellists at a recent Consumer Goods Council of South Africa webinar said that the country has reached a tipping point with the alarming growth of illicit trade, and is now calling on civil society to assist in mitigating this scourge by reporting instances of illicit activity.

Korean company RMG, which specialises in hologram security, is taking its e-authentication technology to the US market.

Brand protection and supply chain security specialist VerifyMe has announced the renewal of its exclusive ink taggant partnership with HP Indigo for a further five years.

A research team at Hong Kong University is working on the development of an extremely precise 3D printing process that can be used to produce polarisation-encoded anti-counterfeiting labels.

A review of this year's headlines.

Online marketplace eBay is trying to shake off its association with counterfeit products with a new advertising campaign that points to its recent efforts to guarantee authenticity of some product categories sold on its platform.

Japan’s Toshiba Corporation has unveiled what it terms a technology breakthrough in photoluminescence, namely a novel phosphor that delivers excellent solubility in polymers or organic solvents.

In the August edition of Authentication & Brand News™ we looked at how revisions to China’s trademark laws are offering greater protection to foreign brands.

Texas A&M University researchers have developed a method of imprinting a hidden magnetic tag, encoded with authentication information, within hardware during the parts fabrication process through additive manufacturing.

December’s Excellence in Holography awards, organised by industry trade body International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), were presented at the annual Holography Conference Online earlier this month, and five out of the six winners were security-related.

IQ Structures, a research and production organisation focused on nanotechnology engineering, part of the IQS Group, has introduced holograms that can be authenticated automatically. All it takes is a normal light and a mobile phone app.