New Tax Stamp Programmes Announced

A number of new tax stamp launches have been reported recently in the media.

On 1 January 2022, Bulgaria will introduce new stamps on tobacco products, with stamps for bottled alcohol beverages following three months later. The stamps are printed by the Bulgarian National Bank Printing Works.

And the Philippines’ third-generation tobacco tax stamps will be released at the end of October this year, on imported and locally made cigarettes, heated tobacco and vapour products, for both domestic sale and export. The stamps are produced by the state-run organisation APO Production Unit.

Moving to Africa, Liberia has officially launched its new excise stamps on all domestically produced and imported tobacco and alcohol products. The stamps are already available for tobacco and will be available for alcohol in January 2022.

Liberia Revenue Authority awarded the tax stamp contract for tobacco products, spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages in 2020 to Madras Security Printers. The stamps include anti-copy QR codes and a turnkey track and trace solution that extends from point of origin to point of sale. According to Madras, it will be one of the few comprehensive track and trace systems operating in English-speaking West Africa.