![34645](https://www.taxation.co.uk/images/default-source/woodwing/34645.png?sfvrsn=6f25f84e_2)
Key points
- Excise duty is an important government revenue.
- Tax stamps are an integral part of track and trace programmes.
- Stamps can drive down fraud and protect reputations.
- The EU will review its Tobacco Products Directive in 2021.
- Tax practitioners should encourage adherence to best practice.
Excise duty on cigarettes and alcohol is a vital source of government revenue as well as being a means of controlling consumption. The illicit trade of these and other products through tax evasion smuggling and counterfeiting costs treasuries billions of dollars a year in lost revenue. Nor is the cost purely a financial one – the damage caused by illicit trade to a company’s brand reputation loss of sales and market capitalisation is almost incalculable.
Accountants and other tax practitioners who deal with the tobacco and alcohol sector need to be aware of this and of the role of tax stamps...
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