Trinidad and Tobago Clamps Down on Illicit Trade

Trinidad and Tobago’s Trade Minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon, has announced the development of an action plan, in collaboration with key trade-related agencies and the private sector, to address the problem of illicit trade, particularly in regard to tobacco and alcohol imports, reports looptt.com.

The comprehensive plan will include a consumer education campaign on responsible consumption, as well as a programme for enforcing appropriate national standards for the products concerned.

Other initiatives include: a new consumer protection and empowerment act; ongoing consumer awareness campaigns to help citizens identify counterfeit products and their associated risks; continued implementation of the World Trade Organisation agreement on trade facilitation to enhance risk profiling of cargo by the Customs and Excise Division; implementation of a public-private agreement by the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association, including an illicit trade task force in collaboration with the police, customs and excise and the Intellectual Property Office.

The Minister could not provide figures on the impact of illicit trade on revenue collection.

As far as tax stamps and track and trace systems are concerned, Trinidad and Tobago has, to our knowledge, been the only country in the Eastern Caribbean to have indicated its intention to implement track and trace on tobacco products, by passing a law more than 10 years ago requiring the use of such a system. This being said, such implementation is yet to occur.

What did occur, however, reports the World Bank, in its 2018 review ‘Confronting Illicit Tobacco Trade,’ is that the West Indian Tobacco Company (a British American Tobacco subsidiary), announced that it would implement, in 2018, the INEXTO SUITE digital coding technology on products made at its facility in Trinidad and Tobacco. The technology, which is based on the Codentify solution developed by Philip Morris International, is however viewed by critics as one that perpetuates industry, rather than government control of ‘track and trace,’ said the review.

No countries in the Eastern Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago, have implemented excise tax stamps, although for Trinidad and Tobago existing regulations and legislation commit the country to this approach.

It comes as some surprise, therefore, that no mention was made in the looptt.com article of tax stamps and/or track and trace systems being included in the Trade Minister’s action plan to combat illicit trade in the country.