Russia’s State Duma Budget Committee supports a bill that regulates the procedure for collecting excise taxes and their administration following the transition to digital labeling of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, according to Interfax.
“The development of the bill is due to the fact that from March 1, 2024, the requirements for labeling tobacco and nicotine-containing products will change. We are abandoning paper stamps and moving to using digital stamps for labeling,” Deputy Minister of Finance Alexey Sazanov said.
“The term accounting and control special mark is being introduced. This is essentially the bar code that will be applied to the pack. Certain control requirements are being specified—the tax base cannot be less than the corresponding volume of production—tobacco or nicotine-containing products, fixed in state information system,” Sazanov said.
Regarding the appearance of the digital mark, Sazanov said, “Instead of a physical excise stamp, there will be a barcode, like on medicines, on dairy products. There will be an identification sign.”