Senior Multimedia Reporter
geisha.kowlessar@guardian.co.tt
The Government loses around $30 million each year in uncollected taxes from illicit cigarettes.
This was among the issues raised as local, regional and international stakeholders recently announced their concerns over the illicit trade which continues to flourish.
The discussions were part of an event recently hosted by the T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) which held its first forum on anti-illicit trade which took place at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre.
Major brand such as Puma, Moët Hennessy, Servier, and British American Tobacco participated as well as policymakers, law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies.
Arturo Payro, of British American Tobacco, the parent company of West Indian Tobacco Company Ltd, who described illicit trade as worrying, recommended that it required delicate diplomatic handling which must be done very quickly, a statement from the TTMA said.
Payro explained that illegal cigarette brands are becoming more available, especially along areas in the east-west corridor.
“The illicit cigarette trade makes up five to ten per cent of the market, and British American Tobacco fears this share can grow as consumers tend to favour these brands because they sell at a lower price. Cigarettes are T&T’s most illegally traded products in quantity and value,” he said, adding that smuggled cigarettes do not have the Government-required health warnings on the packaging.
Meanwhile, brand protection manager for Moët Hennessy, Flavie Jost, said the most common problem with its premium liquor products in this country is the sale of bottles with missing lot numbers.
Noting that Hennessy cognac is one of the biggest sellers in the Caribbean, he said this makes it one of the most targeted and smuggled liquors, noting that each bottle has a unique ID number etched onto its back label, which illegal traders remove.
Jost also told the forum that decoded alcoholic products are dangerous as the bottle is untraceable and could contain any liquid meant to imitate the look of the branded product as he emphasised that decoded liquor products pose a real health risk to consumers.
The problem of illicit trade is also disturbing for head of brand protection for Puma, Neil Narriman, who stated that there is widespread acceptance, especially among who are in the Generation Z age group (14 to 25-year-olds), who buy counterfeit goods if the price of the authentic merchandise is too high.
Narriman further lamented that the burden fell on companies to push for seizures and prosecutions as he stated that his company for instance, has been asked to pay for Customs inspections of containers that may be suspected of containing counterfeit Puma merchandise.
Permanent secretary (Ag) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Randall Karim who also addressed the conference noted that a strong legal framework will act as a powerful deterrent and send a strong message to smugglers that illegal trade will not be tolerated.
