Fin Min to clamp down on illegal cigarettes

[Admin]

Fin Min to clamp down on illegal cigarettes
NNT 2011-03-24

BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Finance Ministry is prepared to seek the Prime Minister’s consideration on six measures for preventing sales of illegal cigarettes, which have cost the country billions of baht every year.

In his capacity as the chairman of the committee for prevention and suppression of illegal cigarettes, Deputy Finance Minister Man Pattanothai revealed that six measures had been drawn up as part of the framework to eradicate cigarette smuggling into the country and would be presented to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva within mid-April.

The six measures include the establishment of an intelligence center to coordinate with relevant state and private agencies on monitoring trades of illegal cigarettes, and the formation of networks to help put an end to such practices. The cigarette tax stamp will be improved for higher efficiency in differentiating legal products from tax-evading ones while stricter regulations will be applied to the issuance of licenses to cigarette manufacturers and sellers. The tax collection system will also be revamped with tougher punishments.

According to statistics, up to 1.8 billion packs of cigarettes are sold each year in Thailand, of which 10 percent, or 180 million packs, are speculated to be illegal. The smuggled products reportedly cause the government to lose as much as 5 billion THB in annual revenue.

[nookiebear]

They already have teams of officers visiting bars & restaurants checking for these...My lass had a visit from them about 15 months ago

[boloa]

They already have teams of officers visiting bars & restaurants checking for these...My lass had a visit from them about 15 months ago

What they should have is teams of officers at border crossing to stop the cigarettes being smuggled in,It's not Rocket Science is it   

Arrest the guys at the top not the guys at the bottom 

[isanbirder]

A lot of the smuggling is on the Burmese border, where undoubtedly the authorities on both sides are in on it.  As an individual, you can go to the river at Mae Sot which forms the border, and buy straight from the (small-time) smugglers.  The big guys drive lorries across (or boats).

[Admin]

As an Xsmoker I can tell you the cigarettes from Cambodia taste horrible and I couldn't smoke them at all. (Marlboro Light), some are saying these cigarettes are expired but I don't know....