A snapshot of the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum, Malta. More images and the conference review will be posted on the website shortly https://taxstamptraceabilityforum.com/.

The market for legal cannabis is growing, and California, the largest regulated cannabis market in the United States, ranks first among states that are taking in more cannabis taxes than alcohol taxes.

The Tax Stamp and Traceability Forum™ was an ideal gathering to learn how ISO 22382:2018, the international tax stamp standard, is being used. It gave the opportunity to hear revenue agencies’ and tax stamp suppliers’ attitude to the standard four years after it was published.

UK print specialist Hague Group has acquired PSL Print Management, also based in the UK. The acquisition has increased turnover for the enlarged group to £50 million, and makes it one of the largest privately owned print specialist groups in the UK.

Following its 5th Annual General Meeting, held in May 2022 in Malta during the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum, the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) has appointed three directors to its board. Furthermore, ITSA is pleased to announce the appointment of a new chairman.

The Tax Stamp and Traceability Forum™ (TSTF) returned as an in-person event in May 2022 with 194 registrants from 99 organisations and 35 countries. The conference was organised into eight sessions spanning two full days plus a pre-conference workshop day.

The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) in Bahrain has launched its digital tax stamp and traceability system on cigarettes, following the signing of a contract with De La Rue in 2021.

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.

After several years of little to no travel as a result of COVID-19, it was wonderful to meet up with old and new colleagues again at the High Security Printing™ Latin America conference, held in Mexico City in March.

Join us for a cannabis panel discussion on 17 May at the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum in Malta. Technology providers and government representatives will discuss how countries should be dealing with the high earning potential of cannabis versus more traditional tobacco and alcohol products, and will compare different seed-to-sale authentication and track and trace mechanisms for protecting against illicit trade.

The Cannabis Work Group of AIM North America, the premier alliance for the automated data capture technologies industry, has released a white paper reviewing the use of automatic identification and data capture solutions (including barcodes, RFID, and NFC) for cannabis traceability.

Canada’s 2022 budget has proposed potential changes to Canada’s federal excise tax system for cannabis, including allowing licensed cannabis producers to transfer excise duty stamps between them.

The advent of the smartphone has led to a surge in the development of smartphone readable security features.

A new nationwide study commissioned by SICPA North America shows overwhelming support among cannabis users for more in-depth information about the products they may use.

After the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa, consumers in Delhi will soon be able to buy liquor in 180ml Tetra Pak containers.

According to high-security printer Royal Joh Enschedé (RJE), the humble postage stamp is undergoing a phenomenal digital transformation.

Cannabis is fast becoming one of the top excise revenue sources for states that have legalized the substance. Cannabis excise tax revenue collection, as a matter of fact, is outpacing liquor tax collection in most states where it has been legalized.

Eighteen months after lifting its cigarette ban, South Africa still struggles with inflated illicit sales, proving that the experts were right when they said the ban would entrench illicit trade into the day-to-day life of the country and make it very difficult to eradicate.

The programme for the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ is now complete, and promises to deliver a compelling and informative mix of technical papers, case studies, panel discussions and roundtable workshops.

During a recent symposium on the implementation of track and trace in the fertiliser sector, Pakistan’s FBR declared that, given the proven success of the system on tobacco and sugar, its aim going forward was to ensure ‘no production without taxation’ across the country.