2022 – A Year in Headlines

January

Ecuador under pressure? Pakistan reports 11% higher sugar tax revenues; Hungary’s ANY Security Printing to buy Romania’s Atlas; Economist Impact webinar discusses shift in illicit trade in Europe; new family of optical features from OpSec Security; the newest bootleg liquor is counterfeit bourbon; Jura workshops look to the future of security printing, including advancements in digital security printing.

February

Mozambique introduces direct digital marking on beer and ready-to-drink beverages provided by OpSec Security; HP Indigo Secure and Jura install first digital secure press in Nepal’s state printing works; UK government appoints Dentsu Tracking to provide tobacco traceability; Authentication & Brand News™ is born; Oman is latest GCC country to introduce tax stamps for first time; Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum is taking shape; how Taiwan’s consumer reward scheme increased government revenue; a cross- border tax compliance system based on digital stamps; practical considerations for implementing tax stamp and traceability systems.

March

No way back for South Africa’s legal tobacco market 18 months after cigarette ban lifted; NGOs advise EU to eliminate roles allocated to tobacco industry; Heinen Koehl’s coding equipment combines serialisation and aggregation in one unit; Pakistan Revenue’s new mantra: ‘no production without taxation’; cannabis users want full information and verification of product safety, study reveals; Metrc lands three cannabis track and trace contracts in two weeks; Delhi to introduce liquor in Tetra Pak; the new era postage stamps which perform like tax stamps; cannabis – the green gold mine.

April

Bahrain launches tax stamps on cigarettes; Togo reports significantly higher excise collections following implementation of automated marking system in 2020; smartphone-readable security features and insights from their application in other markets; ITSA’s first in-person workshop in three years draws Latin American audience; don’t miss cannabis panel discussion at Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum; cannabis tax stamp tweaks proposed in Canada’s 2022 budget; white paper on cannabis data capture solutions hardly mentions security features.

May

Review of Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum; SICPA to open global campus in ‘Trust Valley’ to provide a safe environment to develop systems and technologies that will be the foundation of tomorrow’s companies; Dow to provide new EU common fuel marker; overview of tax stamps in India; why legal cannabis is losing the war to illegal product; ISO tax stamp standard – four years and counting; Hague Group buys PSL Print Management; ITSA appoints new board and chairman.

June

SICPA’s new platform for mobilising excise revenue; love me tender – looking at the differences between RFIs, RFPs etc. and when to use them; Optel Group looks at tax stamps and directly printed marks in high-speed production markets; emerging technologies: threats and opportunities from digital printing, sustainability initiatives, smart packaging, smartphone validation technologies, robotics in logistics, edge computing, distributed data systems, and new players.

July

Rajasthan to implement holographic liquor stamps and end-to-end track and trace; SICPA Morocco inaugurates coding centre; the Pakistan tax stamp and track and trace system: success or failure? Using interoperable functional units for tax collection and product track and trace; stamping down on illicit alcohol; edible QR codes could protect against counterfeit liquor; U-NICA looks at tax stamps and their anti-counterfeit solutions.

August

Authentix wins multiple fuel marking and tax stamp/marking contracts in Africa; don’t forget the glue, advises ITSA; emerging technologies: a deeper dive into digital printing; on the record with Panama General Directorate of Revenue; anti-counterfeiting strength through the inherent randomness of quantum materials; overview of illicit seeds: recent developments, traceability and blockchain.

September

Nepal government launches call for printer to produce tax stamps on its HP Indigo 6K secure digital press; De La Rue announces new Managing Director for Authentication division; has California’s illicit cannabis market hit a high-water mark? emerging technologies: a deeper dive into smartphone authentication; Research Unit on Economics of Excisable Products creates simulation model for determining breakeven cost of track and trace; on the record with Pakistan’s track and trace project director, Federal Board of Revenue; Chandigarh broadens sights with extensive track and trace system.

October

Michigan switches to SICPA for cigarette tax stamps; Sri Lanka’s alcohol excise revenue plummets in country where 80% of alcohol consumption is already illicit; the current state of illicit trade in India; emerging technologies: a deeper dive into physical/ digital solutions; massive seizures of illicit cigarettes in the heart of Europe; five years already: UAE reflects on excise tax success; SICPA and UbiQD partner for quantum dot security; upcoming conferences demonstrate the importance of optical security features.

November

ITSA launches ISO 22382 review; Ethiopia launches tax stamp expression of interest; cannabis in India – potential for strong revenue growth; South African Revenue Service: doing a lot, just not quite enough; Polyart and EDGYN form tax stamp and security label partnership; Virginia awards tobacco stamp contract to Meyercord Revenue; Framework Convention Alliance is now called Global Alliance for Tobacco Control; Indian states of Telangana and Karnataka invite bids for 570 million alcohol tax stamps per month; making authentication fun with Securikett’s security label with slot machine symbols and scratch-off ink; European Anti-Fraud Office hosts 25th annual Task Group Cigarettes Conference to target tobacco smugglers; Ghana launches tax stamps on textiles; emerging technologies – direct marking solutions; micro-transponders for tax stamps?

December

2023 – an exciting year for revenue stamps, says ITSA Chairman; VerifyMe extends taggant partnership with HP Indigo; SICPA receives Best Swiss Company award; Authentix announces new appointments; 2022 – a year in review; interview with Jérôme Pichot, the second CEO of Advanced Track & Trace; emerging technologies – warehouse automation.