New Guyana Alcohol Stamps Reflect Global Shift

On 1 November, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) launched three new tax stamps on alcoholic beverages, together with an automated monitoring system for strengthened product traceability. The system was developed in partnership with GRA’s existing stamp provider Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN), which also supplies Guyana’s tobacco stamps.

Notably, the new stamps are significantly shorter than their predecessors, introduced in 2017, reflecting a global shift away from long, wraparound stamps.

While one of the primary functions of long alcohol stamps (or banderoles), in addition to their tax collection role, is to act as a physical seal by wrapping themselves over the closure and neck of a bottle, short stamps are primarily focused on providing unique identification and optical verification. Having said this, short stamps can also be highly effective against tampering and refilling when applied across the opening of a container.

The trend towards using these ‘cigarettestyle’ stamps on alcohol stems from the fact that they are easier to affix automatically on high-speed production or bottling lines, as they are more compatible with mechanised stamping equipment and automated vision inspection. In addition, short stamps incur reduced waste and misapplication, as well as lower storage and logistics costs – and they are cheaper to buy.

Another driver for using the same tax stamp for multiple product categories is that tax authorities are able to standardise stamp procurement, storage, and distribution processes, and enforcement officers can use the same scanners and inspection protocols across each category.

In addition to Guyana, another CBN customer, Canada Revenue Agency, also uses similar tax stamps for tobacco, vapes and cannabis products.