site.btaParliament Adopts First-Reading Amendments to Tobacco and Tobacco Products Act

Parliament Adopts First-Reading Amendments to Tobacco and Tobacco Products Act

Sofia, September 10 (BTA) - The National Assembly Thursday adopted first-reading amendments to the Tobacco and Tobacco Products Act proposed by the Government.

The amendments task the Agriculture and Food Ministry with the creation of two new registers: one for tobacco growers and the contracts they conclude for the buying out of raw tobacco, and another for the persons who have been permitted to buy out raw tobacco.

The adopted amendments also lift the 30-day deadline for the full payment of the purchased tobacco. Tobacco commissions will be established with the regional agricultural departments within whose territory tobacco is produced and traded. These commissions will carry out a second assessment of the tobacco's quality, which will be final even if there is disagreement with the experts' conclusion. The expenses for the assessment will no longer be covered by the buyer.

Raw tobacco will be bought up only by persons who have obtained a permit, have concluded a contract with a registered tobacco grower, and have appropriate sites and equipment to store the tobacco. The buyers are obliged to provide information on the estimated qualities that will be purchased in the following year, the purchased and available quantities of tobacco from the previous crop.

The amendments create the opportunity for the establishment of representative organizations of tobacco growers. The production of tobacco products will be carried out by licensed warehouse owners under the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act who have obtained a production permit.

The amendments lift the ban on the production and sale of preparations for filter cigarettes.

The production of tobacco seeds will be carried out by persons registered under the Seeds and Planting Material Act.

A competent body will be designated for the establishment of violations related to the sale and supply of tobacco products through the use of information society services. Such violations will lead to administrative penalties.

Agriculture and Food Minister Dessislava Taneva presented in numbers the downward trend in tobacco production in Bulgaria: from 35,000 t in 2010 to 27,000 t today. In her words, this is a world and European trend and it determines the prices. In Bulgaria, unlike Europe, the quality of the produced raw material is deteriorating, she noted.

The National Assembly rejected a Tobacco and Tobacco Products Bill tabled by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). The bill stipulated that the deadlines for the payment of the purchased tobacco should be determined by the parties to the contract but not later than 30 days from the signing of the protocol on the tobacco's transfer to the buyer. The bill also envisaged the creation of a National Tobacco Chamber.

Minister Taneva commented that the Agriculture Ministry does not support MRF's bill as a whole, because it entrusts the ministry with many control functions that are an obligation of other specialized bodies.