Spain getting tough on oversupply

The Spanish Treasury is considering taking measures that would prohibit the export sale of cigarettes that are not justified by the demand in the countries of import, according to a Gibraltar Chronicle story.

The move, revealed by Treasury Secretary of State Miguel Ferre Navarrete at a conference at the Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, aims to stem the flow of export cigarettes that are then smuggled back into Spain.

Spain had low tax zones such as Gibraltar and Andorra adjacent to its borders and to where such tobacco flows had been detected, he said.

Later, the export cigarettes could be found on Spanish streets.

Ferre said Spain would apply the 2012 Seoul Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

That would require companies involved in the tobacco trade in Spain to account for the volume of their exports to various jurisdictions, and would open the door to fines and sanctions.