Increased Controls Shrink Illicit Tobacco in Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to the Sarajevo Times, the implementation of increased controls by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tax authority and law enforcement agencies have drastically reduced the tobacco black market in the country, to the point where tobacco excise revenues are expected to exceed BAM 1 billion ($548 million) for the first time in history.

The increased controls include closing the Port of Bar in Montenegro – the main supplier of illegal cigarettes to the entire region – as well as intensifying actions to confiscate cigarettes, and the machines used to manufacture and package them. As a result of these actions, the price difference between legal and illegal tobacco products has almost melted away.

The evident shrinking of the black market is best illustrated by the rising number of excise stamps issued for tobacco products, indicating that illicit cigarettes were being transferred into legal flows.

‘In 2020, the administration issued 171 million excise stamps for marking tobacco and tobacco products, and in 2023, 270 million stamps, which is an increase of 57%. The growth in the number of issued excise stamps continued this year,’ reported the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina.