Romania-Rep. of Moldova joint customs operations reduce cigarette smuggling in north-eastern Romania

The Romania-Republic of Moldova joint customs operations led to a decrease in the cigarette smuggling in north-eastern Romania, the Customs General Directorate (DGV) informed on Wednesday. A Novel Research study released on Tuesday had showed that the cigarette black market has been on a rising trend in July 2014, reaching the highest level in the last three years.

"Over July 22-26, 2014 and August 1-8, 2014, the General Directorate for Customs together with the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova have conducted joint operations on the Romanian-Moldovan border to combat illegal smuggling with tobacco products. The operations have been conducted under the Protocol the two customs authorities signed in 2011 and benefited from the support of the Fiscal Anti-fraud General Directorate and the General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie, as well as from the help of major cigarette manufacturers in Romania (British American Tobacco — BAT, Japan Tobacco International — JTI and Philip Morris Trading — PMT)," DGV informs in a release to AGERPRES.

The results of these joint operations held on the north-eastern border had a positive impact, resulting in a 8 percent decline in the cigarette smuggling in July 2014 compared to May 2014. This percentage was revealed by an independent analysis conducted by the cigarette producers with a relevant company specialized in this type of studies, DGV reports.

The cigarette black market rose at a rapid pace in July 2014, reaching the highest level in the last three years, 17 percent compared to 16.1 percent in May and about 14 percent at end-2013, show the data published by the Novel Research company.

"The north-eastern region is still the most affected by the illicit cigarette trade...