Pakistan’s Track-And-Trace System Under Fire

Anti-tobacco groups are questioning Pakistan’s decision to award its track-and-trace system to the National Radio and Telecommunications Corp. (NRTC), a technology company which procures its track-and-trace technology from Inexto.

Inexto’s staff includes 16 former Philip Morris International (PMI) employees, including those involved in the development of the tobacco industry’s own track and trace system, Codentify.

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, of which Pakistan is a member, requires participants to implement a cigarette tracking-and-tracing system with the requirement that it “shall not be performed by or delegated to the tobacco industry.”

While Codentify was sold to Inexto in 2016, Critics dispute PMI and Inexto claims that the system is independent from the tobacco industry.

“This, alongside its history with the industry, brings into question whether Pakistan’s track and trace system meets the Illicit Trade Protocol’s requirements,” writes the anti-tobacco organization STOP in a case study.

Concerns include the NRTC’s affiliation with Inexto, its lack of experience in installing track and trace systems and that NRTC’s solution will not involve a mobile application, despite this being a requirement within the original tender. Two unsuccessful bidders in the tender process are now challenging the decision to award the contract to NRTC in Islamabad High Court.

The track-and-trace system became mandatory in Pakistan on July 1. Several companies have asked Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue for extra time to continue selling cigarettes without stamps and unique identification markers.

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