Rejection urged

The international tax stamp industry is urging EU member states to reject a draft implementing regulations for track and trace, security features and data storage, proposed under the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).

In its latest positioning paper on the proposed regulations, the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA), the global trade body for the tax stamp industry, lays bare its concerns about the regulations and is calling on member states to reject them unless they are substantially amended.

ITSA is particularly worried that, as the draft proposals currently stand, there will be no guarantee of independence from the tobacco industry, as well as no guarantee of a completely interoperable system based on open standards.

Furthermore, the trade body believes the technology will not be able to provide the requisite levels of protection against the illicit trade in tobacco products.

ITSA is urging member states to press for substantive changes to the draft regulations to ensure independence from the tobacco industry.

ITSA says there’s already a precedent, with the French government opting for this route and rejecting the draft regulations, on the grounds that they are not in line with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control Protocol. This calls for a traceability system that is completely independent from the tobacco industry.