Cigarette smuggling increased in July by 1.2 percentage points to 15.3% of the total market, according to latest data released by Novel Research.
One percentage point of smuggling represents losses to the state budget of about EUR 35 million.
“In July 2015, the illegal trade with cigarettes has risen significantly against May in the West (plus 10.2 pp up to 27.1%) and Southeast (plus 4 pp to 10.2%). The North-east region continues to be most affected by the black market, with a level of 35.3% of illicit trade,” said Marian Mark, Director of Novel Research.
In the context, Adrian Popa, head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs, BAT Romania showed that the problem of smuggling should be referred to the Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) as the National Defence Strategy mentions the risk to national security arising from cross-border traffic of weapons, drugs or goods.
“We do not know at the moment how to adapt production processes and business plans, a situation that at some point could make production impossible and thus place us in the impossibility to pay taxes to the Romanian state. In 2014 the taxes were worth about EUR 2.7 billion,” said, in turn, Gilda Lazar, Director of Corporate Affairs & Communications, JTI Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria.
Adrian Pirau, Market Development Manager, Imperial Tobacco Romania, claims that to the losses caused by the black market add the costs of the regulatory framework, another point where authorities play a very important role.
The tobacco industry is the second largest contributor to the Romanian state, after the companies in the oil sector. In 2014, the tobacco industry paid to the budget of about EUR 2.7 billion, representing VAT and excise duties, taxes and contributions. The amount represents 1.75% of GDP and 12.5% of budgetary revenues.