Retailers unprepared

Thousands of tobacco retailers in the United Kingdom have yet to apply for their mandatory track-and-trace codes, without which they will soon be unable to buy tobacco legally, reports Convenience Store.

Track-and-trace compliant tobacco packs feature unique identifiers and security measures.

Unitas Wholesale senior trading controller Jim Brown said there were reports that “as little as 30 percent of retailers have registered” for their codes so far.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) echoed the call for retailers to act now and register.

“As track-and-trace marked stock arrives on the market, retailers need to be aware that they cannot make purchases from a wholesaler unless they have the necessary economic operator identifier code and facility codes for each of their premises,” FWD chief executive James Bielby said.

“Without these, they will only be able to purchase older non-marked packs, which will sell through quickly on the most popular brands,” Bielby said. “The authorization can’t be issued immediately, and we don’t want retailers to turn up at their wholesaler and be unable to buy the stock they need.”