The illicit trade in tobacco products and how to tackle it

Abstract

The following is an overview of the content of a booklet published in 2011 by the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC), a non-profit research and education foundation that provides information on best practices in taxation and investment policy. The booklet is intended to inform policy makers and administrators in tax and enforcement organisations in less developed countries and help them improve efforts to combat the illicit trade in tobacco products. It brings together facts and views from respected academics, private sector consultants, journalists, international enforcement organisations, government revenue authorities and industry. It analyses the nature of the problem, its causes and consequences, and offers authorities best practice guidance on implementing anti-illicit trade strategies. Case studies are used to provide evidence of good practice and global efforts to tackle this serious problem. The booklet was written by a former tax administrator in a style intended to make it accessible to those for whom English is not their first language. The booklet includes a foreword by Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), and photographs and illustrations courtesy of the WCO, revenue and customs authorities and the industry. As a result of growing interest in the subject, the booklet has already been reprinted and translated into French, Arabic and Russian.