Major increases in the counterfeit and smuggling segments in Romania

Romanian authorities seized more than 90 million contraband cigarettes in the first nine months of 2023, almost double the volume of seizures recorded in the same period last year. Their total value on the black market is more than €15 million, according to data centralized on www.stopcontrabanda.ro, the only real-time centralizer of contraband cigarette seizures in Romania. BAT is launching a new information campaign on the legislative framework and the risks of smuggling and counterfeiting, in partnership with the Romanian Border Police and the Romanian Customs Authority.

Trafficking in counterfeit products tripled in the first six months of 2023, according to the analysis of the Romanian Border Police activity for the first half of 2023[1]. Among the most frequently counterfeited products are cigarettes, clothing, footwear and cosmetics. Each sale of a counterfeit product generates losses to the state budget, representing a real danger to consumers` safety. 

BAT is launching this year a new information campaign on the legal framework and the risks of smuggling and counterfeiting to individual and community safety. From the 21st of September, all border and customs posts will provide information materials on the quantities of cigarettes that can be carried into the EU and non-EU areas, the legal penalties in case of smuggling and counterfeiting and elements regarding the identification of illegal and counterfeit products. The campaign is run in partnership with the Romanian Border Police and the Romanian Customs Authority.

“In the context of the current year’s data showing an alarming increase in criminal activity and the diversification of methods of placing smuggled and counterfeit products on the market, the key priorities on the country’s public agenda should be consumer safety, curbing the criminal networks phenomena and ensuring the sustainability of the state budget revenues. We strongly believe in continuous and correct information on the risks of smuggling and counterfeiting and we continue to support the authorities’ efforts to fight these phenomena with severe implications on economic development and community safety”, says Ileana Dumitru, Legal and Public Affairs Director, South Eastern Europe Area in BAT.

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Amid intense efforts to combat illicit activities at the border, BAT, the largest player in the Romanian tobacco market, paid a total contribution of 10.5 billion lei (€2.1 billion) in excise duties and taxes to the state budget last year. This amount ads to BAT’s €24 billion direct contribution to the state budget in its first 25 years of activity on the local market.

“The large-scale actions carried out to combat smuggling are reflected in the data recorded in the first eight months of this year, with very good results consisting of significant seizures of cigarettes and the dismantling of organized crime networks. Between January and August, 3.4 million packs of cigarettes worth 62.7 million lei and over 27 tons of raw and hookah tobacco were seized for confiscation. Efforts to reduce the phenomenon of illegal trafficking will continue with the same level of support, in cooperation with all state institutions with competencies in the fight against smuggling, as well as with the industry partners “, said the Inspector General of the Border Police, Police Superintendent IVAȘCU Victor-Ștefan.

The Romanian Customs Authority and BAT renewed on 8 September 2022 the cooperation protocol signed in 2014, establishing a general framework for intensifying joint efforts to prevent and combat the smuggling of tobacco products, the illicit manufacture, trade and distribution of counterfeit tobacco products, as well as for establishing the modalities of cooperation and exchange of information and assistance.

Operational experience has shown us that illicit trafficking in excise products is a phenomenon that can be effectively combated through collaboration and partnership and the Romanian Customs Authority is constantly carrying out specific actions to combat illegal trafficking in cigarettes and tobacco products, using the means at its disposal, including the collaboration with law enforcement institutions and authorities and international authorities (OLAF, EUROPOL, SELEC, World Customs Organization).

The illicit trade in cigarettes and tobacco products is a global, complex phenomenon and constitutes a permanent threat to the competitiveness of the legal, domestic and European markets, which is likely to substantially affect the consolidated state budget of each Member State, the financial interests of the European Union and, equally, the illicit trade in cigarettes. Illicit trade causes significant financial losses due to non-payment of customs duties and other taxes, including value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties.

The 3 largest seizures of smuggled cigarettes were recorded this year in the counties of Arad, Giurgiu and Valcea, with the volumes seized in these counties accounting for over 70% of the total seizures in the first 9 months of 2023.

This year, Romanian authorities also deconstructed major groups involved in counterfeiting tobacco products, particularly in the southern parts of the country.  At mid-year, following raids in Ilfov, Calarasi and Dolj counties, the authorities uncovered groups that had organized and smuggled 64 shipments of almost 330 tons of raw tobacco into Romania for processing in various clandestine establishments. In August, two clandestine tobacco processing plants and more than 2,000 kilograms of tobacco, of which about 600 kilograms were already processed, were also discovered.

Data on the evolution of cigarette seizures in Romania are centralized in real time on www.stopcontrabanda.ro, a BAT initiative that aims to support the authorities by centralizing information on contraband cigarettes’ seizures across the country, and also to inform consumers about to the effects of cigarette smuggling on society. The campaign is carried out in partnership with the Romanian Police, the Romanian Border Police, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) and the General Directorate of Customs. “Stop Contrabanda” campaign was launched in 2017 by BAT to create a single information point on illicit cigarettes seizures and cigarette smuggling.