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.

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.

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.

A review of this year's headlines.

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.

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.

OpSec Security has announced its investment in Europe’s first HP Indigo 6K Secure Digital Press, which offers both security and flexibility with its single-pass productivity and secure variable data options.

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.

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.

OpSec Security, together with technology partner Scopsis SAL, has announced a new partnership with Régie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs (Régie Libanaise) to combat the illicit tobacco trade in Lebanon.

Following the roll-out of secure track and trace on domestically manufactured tobacco products, Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has now extended the system to the next sector ‘on its list’: sugar.

The Second Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products concluded a few weeks ago, with some decisions adopted in record time.

The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is calling for improvements to a directive that controls the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products in the European Union.

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.