The cost of cigarette goes up

BAT officials said they have opted to increase prices so that the Romanian consumer adapts more easily to new prices in July, when new cigarette excise taxes go into effect.

According to the Fiscal Code, the tax for a thousand cigarettes will go up as of 1 July to €50 from a present €43. The tax will rise to €65 for a thousand cigarettes if a compensatory measure in the draft Fiscal Code is adopted to reduce VAT to 5 percent for basic foodstuffs.

The domestic cigarette market, including the black market, is worth some €2.5 billion. Main producers are BAT, with a 40.4 percent market share in January, JTI and Galaher, with a cumulated 28.7 percent of the market, and Philip Morris with 26.7 percent.