Page 40 - bne_Magazine_April_2018

40 I Southeast Europe bne April 2018
When compared to the total value of Romania’s tobacco black market, you begin to realize what lies ahead for those fighting to bring illicit trade down to the EU average of 9%.
“Over the past year, we have seen illicit sales fall, as authorities conducted anti- smuggling operations throughout the country, and then go back up, as the efforts were not sustained. This is why over 4bn cigarettes were sold last year on the Romanian black market. Imagine a line of trucks filled with smuggled cigarettes stretching for over 20 km,” said Dumitru.
The only solution, according to the BAT representatives is for the authorities
to “be aware of the size and negative impact of illicit trafficking and to turn anti-smuggling into a national priority. Otherwise, the Romanian market will continue to be flooded with products
that are not taxed and not checked,” said Dumitru.
BAT is the second largest contributor to the Romanian state budget, paying near- ly €1.6bn in taxes every year. It employ- ees over 2,500 people in Romania and creates another 25,000 jobs indirectly.
So what does BAT expect from the Romanian authorities and their legislative agenda? “Predictability.
As previously shown, predictability is paramount not only to British American
Tobacco but to any enterprise needing stability to plan out its investments.
The lack of a constructive dialogue between authorities, industry and civil society can have devastating effect all around. We stress our openness towards working together with authorities
in weathering incoming challenges. Such a challenge is the system for tobacco traceability that will have to be implemented at EU level in less than two years, which will have a huge impact and costs for both the industry and the state budget alike,” concluded Dumitru.
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Selected headlines from past month:
· Kosovo’s PM sacks interior minister over deportation of Turkish citizens
· Turkey grew 7.4% in 2017: analysts warn of blowout dangers in “warp-speed” expansion · Kosovo on the brink of political chaos as Serb List quits government
· Albania plans to float state-owned power distributor by end-year