In December last year, Economist Impact, part of the Economist Group, convened a roundtable titled ‘Continental shift: tackling illicit trade in Europe’ to discuss the fundamental changes illicit trade has undergone in Europe and to provide insights into how governments, service providers and industry need to address the issue.

Hungary-based ANY Security Printing has signed an agreement to acquire Romanian forms production and personalisation services provider Atlas for €1.37 million ($1.55 million).

OpSec Security has launched OpSec® SuRe, a new family of surface relief effects for security and brand protection applications that provide striking Level 1 features.

The deadline for submitting a 200-word abstract on your proposed topic or case study is 28 January 2022.

Jura Security Printing recently held a series of practical workshops in Budapest, Hungary to discuss the future of security printing. This was one of the first events in the last year or so that customers and suppliers had physically travelled to in order to meet up in person, so it was filled with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.

Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reported 11% higher tax revenues from the sugar sector, following the expansion of its tax stamp and track and trace system in November last year (the system was initially launched on domestically produced tobacco products earlier in 2021).

If you rang in the New Year with that hard-to-find bottle of bourbon you had been hunting down in off-the-beaten-path stores or through a private social media collectors’ group, you might have been getting more than you bargained for… you might have gotten counterfeit.

The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is inviting regional government authorities to a pre-conference seminar to discuss best practices and lessons learned in the tracking and tracing of excise products, especially tobacco and alcohol.

No review of 2021 would be complete without mention of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic effect it has had on almost everything – including illicit trade.

A review of this year's headlines.

In the United States, state and local governments have been facing the challenges of regulating cannabis and hemp for medicinal and adult use. These challenges are now going international as more countries consider regulatory programs.

The procurement of cigarette tax stamps for the US island territory of Guam has gone back to square one, as only one bid was received for supplying the stamps, and that bid was rejected for not meeting all the requirements, advised Marie Lizama, Deputy Director at the Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT).

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has rolled out a new generation of serialised tax stamps for excisable goods as part of its strategy to continuously review and improve the security features of the stamps.

Malta has become the first European country to allow limited cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use, setting a precedent that is expected to be followed by others.

Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ recently spoke to three members of LEONHARD KURZ about the company’s comprehensive tax stamp solution and, in particular, its adoption of visible digital seal (VDS) technology for tax stamps and other secure documents.

Many technologies and features with their roots in commercial printing have made, and continue to make, a substantial contribution to secure document production. However, these technologies have for the most part been concerned with producing visual colours, perceived by the unaided eye as conventional colour printing.

The legalization of cannabis provides tremendous opportunities, not only for legitimate cannabis growers, distributors, and dispensaries, but also for criminals and criminal networks looking to establish or expand illegal operations.

Metrc, the leading provider of cannabis regulatory systems in the United States, has announced a new contract with the US territory of Guam. This will be Metrc’s first client in the eastern hemisphere and its 17th government contract for a track and trace system.

In 2011, Chile began seriously considering implementing a tax stamp and traceability programme, when Michel Jorratt, a member of the Chilean tax authority, Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), published a study estimating that over $500 million were being evaded yearly in cigarette tax in Chile.

During a recent online technology event, De La Rue’s Authentication division presented interesting developments in the field of digital security printing and product traceability.