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Latest News

1,100 articles online

All Advanced Materials Associations Authentication Brand Protection Case Studies Companies Consumer & Industrial Products Countries Covert & Forensic Security Document Protection Editorials Enforcement & Surveillance Events Excise Products Free Government Illicit Trade Interviews News Overt Security Regulations Reports & Studies Standards Strategies Sustainability Tax & Revenue Tax Stamps Technology & Systems Tenders Track and Trace

Sven Bergmann

29 Sept. 2025

9 min read

The Overlooked Threat: Illicit Tobacco as a Global Public Policy Challenge

Illicit trade in tobacco and vapor products has become a critical challenge facing policymakers, regulators, revenue authorities, and law enforcement. Once seen as a secondary issue compared to narcotics or counterfeit pharmaceuticals, illicit tobacco is now a clear and present threat for many countries across the globe.

Countries Excise Products Free Free

Nicola Sudan

29 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Chad Hosts Technical Experts from WHO FCTC Secretariat

In September, technical experts from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat engaged with Chad government officials, parliamentarians, civil society organisations and other national stakeholders in a joint needs assessment to support the country’s implementation of the FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which it has been party to since 2018.

Countries Excise Products Government

Nicola Sudan

29 Sept. 2025

1 min read

Car Crash Exposes One Million Cigarettes Without Tax Stamps

A Lithuanian man has been arrested for trying to smuggle more than one million cigarettes into Poland after a road accident exposed the contraband concealed in his van.

Excise Products Illicit Trade

Nicola Sudan

29 Sept. 2025

1 min read

e7 Group Partners with SICPA Affiliate for Tax Stamp Production

Abu Dhabi-listed e7 Group, a security printer and identity solution provider, has entered into a strategic partnership with 7I Holding, a UAE-based government technology firm and regional affiliate of SICPA, to expand global reach in secure and sovereign applications, including national revenue optimisation.

Companies Tax Stamps

Nicola Sudan

29 Sept. 2025

1 min read

Indonesia Reviews Cigarette Excise Amid Forgery Allegations

According to Tobacco Reporter, Indonesia’s government is conducting an in-depth review of its cigarette excise system following allegations of forgery and manipulation, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto.

Countries Government Tax & Revenue

Chander S Jeena

23 Sept. 2025

3 min read

PROFOUND® TruSpectrum™ – Colour and Security Precision for Brand Protection

Crane Authentication – a Crane NXT business unit – has unveiled its latest innovation in overt security: PROFOUND® TruSpectrum™, which extends the colour palette of its micro-optic labels to match the spectrum of colours integral to a brand’s visual identity.

Companies

Chander S Jeena

22 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Indian Authentication and Traceability Market Set to Exceed £1 Billion

The Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), in partnership with Accenture, has released its first-ever industry report, ‘Indian Traceability & Authentication Industry Study’, which projects the sector will grow at a CAGR of 11.3% to reach £1.3 billion by 2028-29.

Reports & Studies

Chander S Jeena

22 Sept. 2025

2 min read

MarqVision Secures $48 Million for AI-Powered Brand Control

US startup MarqVision has completed a $48 million second-round financing that will be used to roll out its AI-based engine for detecting and removing counterfeit and pirated goods across online platforms.

Technology & Systems

Chander S Jeena

15 Sept. 2025

2 min read

ASPA Charts the Future: Fresh Leadership and First Industry Report

The Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), India’s leading industry body for authentication and traceability solutions, has announced its newly elected board members for the 2025–2027 term. The appointments were confirmed at ASPA’s annual general meeting (AGM), held on 10 September in New Delhi.

Associations

Francisco Mandiola

15 Sept. 2025

4 min read

Time for Improved Fuel Traceability in Brazil?

Brazil’s federal police recently pulled back the curtain on a criminal web that had infiltrated the country’s fuel distribution chains. While organised crime in Brazil has been expanding, for some time now, from drug and arms trafficking into biofuel and fossil fuels, the government is yet to take the lead on implementing a nationwide modern fuel traceability system.

Excise Products

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Optical Features Retained in Argentina’s Revamped Tax Stamps

Argentina’s cigarette tax stamps have undergone a redesign following the transformation of the country’s tax authority from the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) to the Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (ARCA). While the change reflects new institutional branding and regulatory updates under General Resolution 5603/2024, the stamps’ core optical security features remain firmly in place.

Government Tax Stamps

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Smurfit Appointed ID Issuer for Tobacco Traceability in Ireland

Smurfit Westrock Security Concepts (SWSC), the Irish high-security printing and identity management solutions provider, has been awarded a contract by Revenue Commissioners (Revenue), Ireland, to provide 110-150 million unique identification codes per year for all tobacco related products imported and sold in the country.

Companies Excise Products Regulations

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Kenya Reports Progress Against Fuel Adulteration

Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) is making progress in safeguarding fuel integrity through a technology- driven strategy, according to local news site Citizen Digital.

Excise Products

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

2 min read

SICPA Obtains ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation to Enhance Enforcement Capability of Revenue Authorities

Since 2005, SICPA has been a trailblazer in the tax stamp industry, consistently introducing innovations that have reshaped the market. These include the integration of unique identifiers into tax stamps, the use of cameras to activate stamps on production lines, and the application of security inks for direct marking.

Authentication Companies Free Free

Ian Lancaster

2 Sept. 2025

8 min read

The UK’s Illicit Cigarette Trade

In the June 2025 issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we reported that KPMG had released its ‘Illicit Cigarette Consumption in Europe’ report for 2024, commissioned by Philip Morris. Prompted by a later in-depth report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the illicit cigarette trade in Hull, a port city on England’s North Sea coast, this article examines the situation in the UK as a whole.

Countries Excise Products Illicit Trade

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

4 min read

EU Faces Backlash Over Tobacco Tax Reforms

Portugal has become the latest EU member state to officially oppose the European Commission’s proposed reforms to the Tobacco Excise Tax Directive (TED) – especially the one calling for a sharp increase in minimum tax rates. According to Portugal, this will drive consumers to the illicit market, reports The European Business Review.

Excise Products Regulations Tax & Revenue

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

1 min read

Change of Price and Colour for Portugal’s Cigarette Stamps

The Portuguese government has announced a 2% increase in the price that tobacco companies will need to pay for tax stamps in 2026, alongside a change in the stamps’ background colour.

Tax Stamps

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

3 min read

Carolina Saravia: Career Civil Servant and Chile’s New Tax Chief

Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ readers may remember Carolina Saravia from the 2024 article ‘Chile’s Tobacco Traceability System Uncovers Illicit Production in Santiago’.

Government

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Calling All Revenue Authorities: Mark Your Diaries for ITSA Webinar

The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is pleased to announce it will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday 24 September, titled ‘Tax Stamp and Traceability Systems on Excisable Products: What Works, What Fails, What’s Ahead’.

Associations Events

Nicola Sudan

2 Sept. 2025

3 min read

Cannabis in the News

In a long-awaited shift that signals growing legal acceptance of industrial hemp, German customs authorities have begun issuing official tax stamps for hemp flowers containing no detectable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces a ‘high’.

Excise Products

Latest News

The Overlooked Threat: Illicit Tobacco as a Global Public Policy Challenge

Chad Hosts Technical Experts from WHO FCTC Secretariat

Car Crash Exposes One Million Cigarettes Without Tax Stamps

e7 Group Partners with SICPA Affiliate for Tax Stamp Production

Indonesia Reviews Cigarette Excise Amid Forgery Allegations

PROFOUND® TruSpectrum™ – Colour and Security Precision for Brand Protection

Indian Authentication and Traceability Market Set to Exceed £1 Billion

MarqVision Secures $48 Million for AI-Powered Brand Control

ASPA Charts the Future: Fresh Leadership and First Industry Report

Time for Improved Fuel Traceability in Brazil?

Optical Features Retained in Argentina’s Revamped Tax Stamps

Smurfit Appointed ID Issuer for Tobacco Traceability in Ireland

Kenya Reports Progress Against Fuel Adulteration

SICPA Obtains ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation to Enhance Enforcement Capability of Revenue Authorities

The UK’s Illicit Cigarette Trade

EU Faces Backlash Over Tobacco Tax Reforms

Change of Price and Colour for Portugal’s Cigarette Stamps

Carolina Saravia: Career Civil Servant and Chile’s New Tax Chief

Calling All Revenue Authorities: Mark Your Diaries for ITSA Webinar

Cannabis in the News

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