* The level of contraband in Bucharest has seen an alarming increase
* The traffic with Moldovan brands has seen a significant decrease
The state loses 400 million Euros a year from the illegal sale of cigarettes, as in March, the level of contraband has remained at 13.4% of the total market volume, according to Adrian Popa, Head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs at "British American Tobacco" (BAT) Romania. The losses come from the unearned revenues and taxes pertaining to the tobacco products sold illegally.
The official representative of the BAT thinks that the drop of the black market should have been bigger: "If we are to compare March 2011, when the black market stood at 14.7%, and March 2012, when it reached 13.4%, we feel that the drop should have been bigger, given the priorities announced by the new government towards fighting tax evasion and illicit trade".
He expressed concern about the appearance of the so-called "< illicit whites >- cheap filter cigarettes" - in the European area, which use the Greek ports as the entry gateway and transit through Bulgaria and Romania, in order to reach Spain or Great Britain: "Romania is both a destination, and a transit area, located at the Eastern border of the EU, which generates additional obligations towards fighting cross-border criminality, illicit trade and organized crime".
Gilda Lazăr, Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications at "Japan Tobacco International" (JTI) Romania and Moldova, shows the fact that for the first time since 2010, cigarettes bearing Moldovan stamps no longer have the largest weight on the black market, as there has been a significant reduction in the trafficking of local Moldovan brands: "It is a positive news and a premise for stimulating the partnership with the Moldovan authorities further".
Gilda Lazăr considers that the drop of the contraba
