Action Against Tobacco Smugglers Being Prepared

Spokesperson for the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH Ratko Kovačević stated in an interview for the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) that the ITA BiH, along with market and agricultural inspectors, has initiated a joint cooperation process aimed at bringing the so-called "black market" for tobacco in BiH under control.

According to data from the ITA BiH, the illegal sale of tobacco in BiH ranges between 10 and 15 percent of the total tobacco sales, or about 9 to 15 tons annually.

- A certain amount of tobacco is certainly sold on the black market, at markets across Bosnia and Herzegovina or via internet portals, but it is not as much as has been reported in the media in recent days. The ITA BiH will undertake certain measures in 2014 to bring this market under control - Kovačević said.

During 2011, based on official records of the ITA, the "legal market for imported and domestic cut tobacco," on which duties were paid in accordance with the law, amounted to about 20 tons, and in 2013, it increased to as much as 992 tons. During 2013, the ITA BiH calculated and collected duties (customs, VAT, excise taxes) of approximately 38 million KM on the quantity of 992 tons of cut tobacco.

- The increase in tobacco consumption largely refers to cut tobacco produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Kovačević said.

He added that one should consider the fact that during this period, the consumption of domestic cigarettes and the lowest price category of imported cigarettes decreased, and if the problem is viewed this way, then due to the shift towards the use and purchase of cut tobacco by smokers, the ITA BiH has also earned less during this period because cut tobacco is not yet burdened by a special excise tax.