2021 – A Year in Headlines

January

Liberia begins month-long workshop to prepare for using tax stamps for first time; Cannabis Global integrates Metrc’s API into cannabis transport system; lasers that ‘see’ into bottles of whisky to analyse and authenticate their content; study of evolving challenges posed by counterfeit and illicit trade finds blockchain and ‘all digital’ models to not be effective enough; Alan Hodgson looks at product authentication in a post-COVID world using machine vision technology; Delhi releases high-security liquor labels with physical uncloneable function; tax stamps in Africa – country case studies and usage data.

February

Cape Town University’s tobacco taxation and illicit trade e-library recognised as world first; OneAgrix and INEXTO announce strategic partnership to facilitate digital traceability of global halaal industry; Trinidad and Tobago clamps down on illicit trade; Future Investment Initiative Institute signs letter of intent with African Continental Free Trade Area and Swiss tech company OriginAll to protect 54 African nations against counterfeit and illicit trade; Michael Eads examines whether tobacco traceability under the EU Tobacco Products Directive is a viable benchmark for the rest of the world to follow; Alan Hodgson looks at trends in smart packaging and potential implications for tax stamps and track and trace; Pakistan’s attempts to award track and trace contract stall… again! Kenya surpasses tax collection targets, despite pandemic; tax stamps in the Middle East – country case studies and usage data.

March

Uganda extends tax stamps to cement and sugar; Philippines to remove tax stamp exemption on export cigarettes following concerns of exports being smuggled into domestic market; Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project investigates cigarette smuggling activities in West Africa; Sven Bergmann looks at the cannabis black market in Canada; Costa Rica passes decree specifying fiscal marks on alcohol and calling for ‘true’ independence from the industry; confusion reigns over difference between authentication labels and tax stamps; webinar on non-cloneable codes raises contentious questions about effectiveness of overt security features; Punjab adopts new excise policy measures; De La Rue’s smartphone authentication app for holograms leverages power of computer vision.

April

Ontario, Canada issues RFI for tracking raw leaf tobacco to address increasing problem of illicit cigarettes being produced within the country rather than smuggled across the border; Pakistan finalises licence agreement to implement track and trace on tobacco, cement, sugar and fertilizer… only to have it stayed in court; ongoing tender concerns in the tax stamp world; De La Rue welcomes over 50 tax authorities to inaugural excise tax protection course; Chander S Jeena looks at tax stamp and traceability developments in Nepal, which has been bedevilled with procurement issues; SICPA partners with Rhizo Verified for hemp authentication; Tax Foundation questions whether increasing excise tax on soft drinks in the US is a good substitute for declining income tax levels; exclusive interview with Georgia Revenue Service, which is about to issue new tax stamp tender as current contract nears expiry.

May

YPB Group launches ‘world’s first smartphone-readable tracers’; CCL Design partners with iTRACE Technologies to integrate its HP Indigo-based security label production with iTRACE’s smartphone authentication capability; ITSA appoints new board and prepares new round of webinars; tobacco wholesaler sues Guam tax agency for not issuing tax stamps; Benin’s booming illicit fuel trade calls for new response; Europol reports criminal organisations increasingly producing their own illicit tobacco products in sophisticated manufacturing facilities in heart of EU; tax stamps in Asia and Australasia: country case studies and usage data; key issues discussed at tax stamp webinar, including how solution providers should approach tax stamp issuers.

June

Francisco Mandiola looks at challenges of economic informality in Latin America during COVID-19; Mali delegation draws on Burkina Faso’s tobacco tracing experience; cigarette packs in UK and France flagged as illicit because of cloned ID numbers… but no mention made of authentication labels; Authentication Solution Providers’ Association pays tribute to icon of Indian holography and authentication industry: Mr U K Gupta; Pakistan wins WHO tobacco control award… but there are gaps in the picture; Uganda tax stamp programme for beer, spirits, wine, soda, mineral water and tobacco products smashes performance targets; new tenders from Mauritius, Georgia and Malawi emphasise need for extensive systems on wide product range.

July

51 out of 54 countries in Africa levy excise tax on telecom charges, but questions raised over whether this is appropriate; ZEISER acquires Inspectron’s track and trace software solutions; Sven Bergmann examines an experiment gone wrong in regard to South Africa’s cigarette and alcohol ban during lockdown; draft US bill aims to legalise cannabis at federal level; part 1 of Francisco Mandiola’s pan-Latin American tax stamp analysis covers Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic; KPMG annual study of illicit tobacco trade in Europe warns counterfeit cigarettes might be making comeback; SICPA’s latest generation handheld product authentication solution wins Red Dot Design Award; OpSec Security launches proprietary, smartphone-enabled solution that uses artificial intelligence to validate optically variable devices.

August

Bahrain and Qatar to start using tax stamps for first time after signing contracts with De La Rue; Pakistan finally gets green light to implement track and trace; part 2 of Francisco Mandiola’s pan-Latin American tax stamp analysis covers Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador; World Bank declares comprehensive tobacco track and trace, under full control of revenue authorities, as key to success of tobacco taxation programmes; Tobacconomics stresses importance of security, inclusiveness and real-time data in creating effective tobacco tax systems, but adds that cost-effectiveness is less important; new traffic light security ink from Gleitsmann comprises red-orange-yellow colour transition in UV with green phosphorescent afterglow; Sven Bergmann looks at how illicit tobacco trade in Australia has gone local as a result of supply interruptions and increased border enforcement caused by lockdown; Malta illicit tobacco trade declines from 17.2% in 2016 to 6.4% in 2020, reports KPMG.

September

Another product traceability system for Russia, in addition to Chestny ZNAK track and trace programme; Tanzania’s tax stamp and production monitoring programme records continuing success; membership of International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) stipulated as requirement in Kosovo tax stamp tender, demonstrating ITSA’s increased recognition as authoritative body in the sector; VerifyMe acquires new cannabis client; Applied DNA partners with Flora Growth to deploy molecular tagging, testing and tracking technology; cannabis is counterfeiters’ new target, warns International Hologram Manufacturers Association; technology without enforcement is not enough: a look at companies offering market surveillance and product intelligence services to help law enforcement and brand owners identify illicit activity; Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance study finds Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam could have collected additional $4.8 billion in tax revenues if they’d had better tobacco tax policies in place; UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute examines role of technology in combatting threat of organised crime infiltrating legitimate supply chain; Uttar Pradesh’s ongoing fight with illicit liquor highlights need for tax stamps that combine physical and digital security; De La Rue announces upgrade to Malta site, doubling tax stamp and brand protection label manufacturing capacity.

October

Importance of tax stamps acknowledged at tobacco control summit; new tax stamps launched in Bulgaria, Philippines and Liberia; South African Revenue Service (SARS) claims $1.28 billion in tobacco taxes from just one taxpayer accused of smuggling; 80% of Americans support cannabis secure labelling, says study; first Africa Conference on Tobacco Control and Development kicks off; Advanced Track & Trace appoints new CEO; visible digital seals gain wider international acceptance outside of travel domain, including on tax stamps; Francisco Mandiola looks at cannabis laws in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama; Alan Hodgson asks if there is a traceability opportunity in technologies used for waste packaging recycling.

November

Lebanon introduces tobacco tax stamps and traceability provided by OpSec Security and local partner Scopsis; Pakistan extends tax stamps to sugar mills; ITSA calls for improvements to EU Tobacco Products Directive and offers recommendations for secure traceability systems outside of EU; Metrc announces cannabis track and trace contract with Guam; Connecticut chooses BioTrack for cannabis seed-to-sale tracking; illicit cigarette problem in South Africa is ‘bigger’ than SARS, says commissioner; De La Rue Authentication closes on £100 million sales; latest De La Rue innovations in digital security printing and product traceability include virtual aggregation system for product tracking; Chile records impressive cigarette tax collection numbers thanks to traceability system; OpSec Security invests in Europe’s first HP Indigo 6K secure digital press; track and trace decisions adopted in record time at 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the FCTC Protocol; Sven Bergmann examines California’s growing illicit cannabis problem.

December

Kenya rolls out new generation tax stamps; Guam’s tax stamp programme fails due to lack of bidders; 2021 – a year in review; Malta becomes first European country to legalise cannabis for personal use; KURZ talks tax stamp innovation, visible digital seals and motivating consumers to buy tax-paid products; US cannabis model – the new regulatory frontier for governments.