site.btaCounteracting Contraband Trade in Excise Duty Goods is One of Government's Priority - Interior Minister

Counteracting Contraband Trade in Excise Duty Goods is One of Government's Priority - Interior Minister

Sofia, November 29 (BTA) - Counteracting the contraband trade in goods that are subject to excise duty is one of the main priorities of the government, Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said during a working meeting, quoted by her Ministry. The participants in the meeting were familiarized with a market survey of leading tobacco companies.

According to the survey, the share of the consumption of illegal cigarettes in the second quarter of 2015 was 13.4 per cent, the lowest in the past eight years when the survey has been conducted. The decrease compared to the previous such survey conducted in the last quarter of 2014 is 4.7 per cent. The drop in smoking of illegal cigarettes is attributed to the stepped up measures to crack down on the contraband trade in cigarettes carried out since the start of the year.

Buchvarova spoke about the interdepartmental coordination centre for counteracting contraband trade and for control of the movement of high-risk goods and cargoes set up with the Directorate General for Organized Crime Control. Representatives of all institutions connected with the problem work in the centre which has started to yield results and prove its effectiveness, Buchvarova said.

Director of the Directorate General for Organized Crime Control Ivailo Spiridonov noted the productive work with partner services. He said that five illegal cigarette-making facilities were uncovered in Europe as a result of international operations.

Director of the Customs National Agency Vanyo Tanov said that the own methodology of the customs administration confirms the results of the survey. Tanov said that a considerable increase of 17-19 per cent was registered in the proceeds from cigarette excise duty in the past quarter. This translates in 220-230 million leva, expected to reach 250 million leva by the end of the year. Tanov said the customs administration is preparing for the higher excise duty on cigarettes in 2016, which is expected to increase the interest in illegal trade. He said talks are underway to purchase an X-ray system for checking train carriages.

The survey has been conducted annually in the past eight years by an independent agency and uses a method of analysis of empty cigarette packs collected in 14 big cities. Since 2010 the survey has been conducted twice yearly, in the second and third quarters. The study is commissioned by the five tobacco companies part of an initiative for counteracting the illegal trade in cigarettes: British American Tobacco, Bulgartabac Holding, Japan Tobacco International Bulgaria, Imperial Tobacco Bulgaria and Philip Morris Bulgaria. The companies think there is potential for even better results in the fight against illegal trade in tobacco products: cigarettes and rolling tobacco.