Tobacco Prod Not Consulted On Excise Duty Hike - JTI Romania

Romanian cigarette producers were not consulted on the EUR14 increase of tobacco excise duty this year, and the implementation of this measure would trigger 30%-40% higher costs and would encourage smuggling, according to Japan Tobacco International (JTI).

10 views

The first tobacco and alcohol excise duty hikes will take place on April 1, by EUR7/1,000 cigarettes, EUR11/ hl for fermented beverages and EUR13.96/hl for the rest of alcoholic beverages, Romanian Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea said Thursday.

Tobacco excise duty will also increase by EUR7/1,000 cigarettes on September 1.

Pogea initially said that tobacco excise duty will grow by EUR14/1,000 cigarettes this year, in two tranches, one in March and the other in August, without significant impact on the price of a pack of cigarettes.

JTI representatives stated that cigarette producers met the representatives of Finance Ministry early February, having talks on cutting smuggling, and on transferring the sin tax to the state budget, and they decided to meet again for further talks. No such meeting took place again, JTI representative stated.

The Romanian Government decided in January to increase in 2009 the excises for cigarettes and alcohol to the level it was supposed to reach by 2010 in accordance with the calendar agreed by Romania with the European Commission.

According to the Tax Code, the total excise for one thousand cigarettes, valid as of July 1, 2008, is EUR50. Its value was supposed to grow to EUR61.2 on July 1, 2009 and to EUR74 on July 1, 2010. The excise also includes the sin tax, which is EUR10.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.