113 billion rubles – budget losses from illegal tobacco in 2022

21.10.2022
#industry news

St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region occupy leading positions in the Northwest in the share of illegal tobacco turnover.

At the last round table "Illegal turnover of tobacco products and its impact on the economy of Russia and the North-Western Federal District", the alleged losses of the state from illegal cigarette trafficking were announced. The press service of the Association of small-format trade (AMT) noted that in 2022 losses could amount to 113 billion rubles.

The share of illegal turnover of tobacco products in the North-Western Federal District this year amounted to 14.4%. It is noted that the situation with the illegal tobacco market in the NWFD is worse than the national average. The share of illegal products has increased to 12.1% this year, which is 1.3 billion packs of counterfeit and contraband.

In some regions of the Northwest, the illegal tobacco market is approaching record levels. Thus, illegal cigarettes occupy 18.9% of the market in the Leningrad Region, 18.8% in St. Petersburg, 24.6% in the Pskov Region, and 43.6% in the Novgorod Region.

Officials think about how to deal with illegal cigarette trafficking. Thus, it was proposed to redistribute part of the revenue from excise taxes on tobacco from the federal budget to the regional ones – as a stimulating measure for the subjects of the Federation in terms of combating illegal cigarette trafficking. It is assumed that the distribution of income encourages the subjects of the Federation to "work more actively" on the street," as it has been with alcohol since 2016."

Representatives of the federal and regional authorities, regulatory and supervisory authorities and the largest tobacco producers state that in order to combat counterfeiting and smuggling, it is necessary to conduct a balanced excise policy, give additional incentives to the regions, lift the moratorium on unscheduled business inspections and strengthen the systematic work of law enforcement officers "in the field".

Source:
rustabak.ru