Romania's cigarette black market dips to 7.7 pct in January (survey)

Romania's cigarette black market dipped slightly in January 2024 to 7.7 percent of total consumption from 8.5 percent at the end of 2023, shows a survey by Novel Research.

"January's most substantial decrease in tobacco smuggling was in the Northeast, with a decline of 10.5 percentage points to 19.2 percent. However, this remains the region most affected by illegal cigarette trade. The only region to see a significant increase in the black market is the country south, with a rise by 4.1 percentage points to 10.4 percent. This increase is correlated with the emergence of Bulgaria as a source of smuggled cigarettes, starting last year," Novel Research managing partner Marian Marcu said in a release on Sunday.

According to data on the StopContrabanda.ro platform cited by Ileana Dumitru, BAT Legal and External Affairs Director for South-East Europe, more than 10 million contraband cigarettes were captured by the authorities in the southern area since the beginning of this year. This is the largest amount of illicit cigarettes seized nationwide in the mentioned interval and reflects the growing trend of illicit traffic in tobacco products from the states south of Romania (Bulgaria, Turkey), where the price of cigarettes is significantly lower.

Gilda Lazar, JTI Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications - Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria, pointed out that the budget execution for January 2024 shows a 48.1 percent annual increase in excise revenues on the back of the 91.4 percent higher revenues from excise duties on tobacco products - an exceptional situation, amid the increase since the beginning of the year - while revenues from excise duties on energy products remain in the negative realm.

Dragos Bucurenci, Philip Morris Romania Director of External Affairs, welcomed the fact that 2024 begins with a decrease of approximately one percentage point in cigarette smuggling, after the upward trend taken towards the end of last year.

According to the website of the Border Police, 2023 saw the largest amount of illicit cigarettes seized in the last five years, and compared to 2022, seizures were 40 percent higher. Thus, more than 5.5 million packs of cigarettes, almost 17 tons of tobacco and 31 tons of hookah tobacco were confiscated. Also, 3 organized criminal groups with 47 members were dismantled.

Major taxpaying tobacco companies funnel every year about RON 20 billion to the state budget in excise duties, VAT and other taxes and contributions.