PR: ITSA's position as industry experts goes from strength to strength

The International Tax Stamp Association’s (ITSA) position as an authoritative voice on illicit global trade and effective revenue protection solutions has gained further credence after involvement in two sector events.

February saw Christine Macqueen’s participation as a panellist at The Economist’s Global Illicit Trade Summit, which was attended by delegates from around the world, who had gathered in Brussels to hear about the impact of illicit trade on goods and how to tackle the problem.

The event, attended by Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Security Jan Jambon, and Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organisation, provided an opportunity for Christine to showcase the work of ITSA as a driving force behind an industry tax stamp standard, ISO 19998 – a crucial and welcome move that will go a long way to securing tax revenues and global supply chains.

The standard, which will be published in draft in Q4 2017, will compel all countries using stamps, and encourage those not using them, to have programmes that are in line with the best and most effective on the market.

The summit was also an opportunity to demonstrate the enduring importance of linking digital technologies to material goods for effective track and trace solutions and, with it, improved levels of security and inter-party trust.

ITSA believes that truly robust solutions must combine material and digital security technologies – a view that is also recognised by both the WHO FCTC and the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD2).

Delegates heard from Christine how ‘…this union of physical and digital features is essential to ensure that the combined objectives of authentication, traceability and tamper-evidence are achieved. This is something that information technologies alone are not able to do’.

In another initiative that further underpinned its growing role as a recognised voice, ITSA member Keith Thompson addressed a special campus organised by leading industry trade title, Tobacco Journal International.

The event, held in Germany, was an opportunity to provide delegates from across the spectrum of the tobacco industry with the latest scientific, technical, marketing, and regulatory information.

They heard from Keith about the track and trace and security feature requirements of TPD2, which are a huge challenge for the tobacco industry.

‘Digital only solutions, which consist of a barcode not supported by physical security features, are unsuitable for high-risk situations such as those relating to tobacco fraud, where large excise tax amounts are at stake.

‘Tax stamp programmes can deliver effective authentication and track and trace solutions in the battle to secure revenues and prevent illicit trade,’ said Keith.

Delegates were advised that the way forward is for the digital serialisation requirements to be augmented with additional, multi-layered, high-security elements, such as those offered by excise tax stamps.

‘The opportunity to speak at this event has again underscored ITSA’s growing role and voice as a reputable opinion former in the tobacco sector,’ added Keith.

‘It came as another timely reminder that authorities have to ramp-up their investment in added value security solutions if counterfeiting and the trade in illicit goods around the world is to be checked, let alone stopped’.

Both events reinforced the view that the solutions advocated by ITSA are compatible with industrial production processes and speeds – a concept that is important and particularly resonant to the tobacco industry.