Sustainable and Phygital Innovation Driving Tax Stamps in India

India is the largest market in the world for liquor tax stamps, given that 27 states consume 30-35 billion tax stamps annually. While tax stamps at a global level are mainly used on tobacco products as part of a federal scheme, the situation is different in India, where almost all stamps in circulation are used on alcoholic beverages at the individual state level – and no stamps are used at all on tobacco products.

Given the significance of India for tax stamps, it is important to keep abreast of trends and developments in this market. This article summarises some key trends, which are mainly geared towards bringing sustainable and digital solutions to a market that is still primarily made up of full- face, polyester-based holographic labels.

India’s polyester holographic tax labels.

Sustainable stamps

The first trend is towards sustainable tax stamps, where we see Ladakh becoming the first state in India to adopt a tamper-evident sustainable stamp called BioSHEAL. It is also noteworthy that Ladakh is using tax stamps for the first time.