Recently, Baysolt Khamzatov, the Deputy Director of the first center in Russia to combat illegal trafficking of industrial products, participated in an online conference organized by the media company Kommersant. The conference focused on the illegal trafficking of tobacco products.
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An assessment of the budget and law enforcement effectiveness in combating illegal trafficking was carried out in the Voronezh, Oryol, Kursk, Lipetsk, and Tambov regions. The study, conducted in the first half of 2022, focused on the illegal trafficking of tobacco products across 85 constituent entities and 1,073 settlements of the Russian Federation, with a total population of 87 million.
The average sales rate of illegal cigarettes in Russia is 12.1%, with three regions in the black earth area exceeding this average. The Kursk region saw the most significant growth in sales, which was twice that of the central federal district.
According to an assessment by the National Scientific Center for Combating the Illegal Trafficking of Industrial Products (NSCC) in Russia, the second-highest level of illegal tobacco sales in a macro-region is in the Oryol Oblast, accounting for 18.3%. While there has been some improvement under public supervision, the figures remain high. The estimated budget loss caused by this region is 345 million rubles. The Tambov Oblast's illegal sales are only slightly higher than the Russian average of 12.9%, However, the situation in that region has worsened, resulting in a budget loss of 199 million rubles.
According to the results from the first half of 2022, the share of illegal tobacco sales in the Voronezh region is lower than the national average by 7.1%. This region ranks 64th in Russia, and the budget losses resulting from cracking down on illegal trafficking are estimated to be at least 162 million rubles.
In the Lipetsk region, the lowest proportion of black soil areas is 2.5%. The performance in the first quarter was poor but improved in the second quarter. As a result, the losses for the past six months amounted to 243 million rubles.
Illegal sales of tobacco products imported from Eurasian Economic Union countries mainly originate from Belarus within the territory of the Russian Federation.
Illegal smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus is a major problem in the black market. Two-thirds of the cigarettes come from legally operating factories that include Belarusian excise and stamp taxes on the packaging, while the remaining do not have any taxes. Additionally, 4.7% come from Armenia, where cigarettes are more expensive than Belarus, but cheaper than Russia. However, counterfeit goods only make up a small portion of the market. Illegal cigarettes are most common in rural areas.
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