European VAT, customs and trade alert
March 30 2010
Increase in Excise Duties on Tobacco Products The EU Council of Ministers has adopted a directive that amends existing EU excise duty legislation on tobacco products and narrows the differences between Member States’ tobacco taxation levels. In short, the directive calls for an increase in EU minimum taxation levels on cigarettes and fine cut tobacco products by 2014. For cigarettes, the directive allows a transitional period, until 2018, for countries that have not yet achieved (or have only recently achieved) the existing minimum rates. It also permits countries that do not benefit from the transition to impose a quantitative limit of 300 cigarettes on Member States that apply the transitional arrangements. The directive seeks to promote public health by gradually reducing tobacco consumption and to create a more level playing field for manufacturers by making taxation rules more transparent
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