That the EU will ratify a WHO treaty that could help end the global trade in illicit tobacco products has been welcomed by a trade body for tax stamps. The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) said EU ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s (FCTC) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Product will protect consumers from illegal and dangerous tobacco products and help secure tax revenues.
Member states have on June 17 given the green light to the EU to ratify the Protocol in a move that Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva described as a ‘landmark decision in the fight against smuggling’. However, while ITSA said that it was good news, it wants to see other countries around the world rapidly adopt the Protocol.
The trade body is pressing for urgent ratification in a move that will provide an international track and trace system among other tools to prevent illicit trade through greater supply chain security. A package of law enforcement measures is also planned alongside initiatives for wider international cooperation. The Protocol requires ratification by 40 countries before it can come into force – to date, 17 have done so including Austria, France, Portugal and Spain.
Elsewhere, countries such as Australia and Brazil, which seek better tobacco control, also need to sign up as soon as possible, the association says. The illegal tobacco trade costs governments tens of billions a year in lost tax revenue (and just over €11 billion in the EU alone, according to KPMG’s latest Project SUN report).
The organisation wants ratification in place quickly so that work can start on developing the technical standards for traceability – a move that will also have a ‘strong impact’ on the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) traceability and security feature standards.
Welcoming the EU’s decision to ratify the Protocol, chair of ITSA Juan Yañez, pictured, said: “This is another important step forward, and there is no reason why others cannot follow and accede to the Protocol as soon as possible. Ratification will pave the way for the introduction of technologies that will arm all authorities with the weapons to fight the illegal tobacco trade. More needs to be done, and quickly, to get the process moving ahead, and tax stamps with the latest security features and track and trace capabilities will play a vital role in the battle to thwart counterfeiters and fraudsters.”
According to ITSA the time is now right for focusing attention on the Protocol, given that the 180 parties to the FCTC will be meeting later this year for the seventh Conference of the Parties (COP7). The aim should therefore be for the Protocol to be in force before COP8 in 2018, said ITSA.
The EU’s instruments of ratification can now be deposited at the United Nations headquarters in New York. EU Member States will also be invited to join the Protocol in parallel, at national level. The EU signed the FCTC Protocol in December 2013, which is the first step towards the EU becoming a party to the agreement.
