Income from excise duties on tobacco products in Montenegro in the first four months of 2018 decreased by 25.6 percent, while Bosnia–Herzegovina lost 770 million euros of tax revenue from 2010 to date.
Such losses are caused by an aggressive increase in excise and the growth of illegal trade. “In order to stop the growth of the black market, it is necessary to revise the excise calendar in both countries. We welcome the statements of the Minister of Finance of Montenegro that the excise policy will be re-examined. We hope that the amount of excise will be repaid in the period from December 2017. We also strongly support the recommendations of the Experts of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH who have recommended a three-year moratorium on increasing excise on tobacco” said Goran Pekez, director of corporate affairs and communications at the company JTI for the Western Balkans. The JTI welcomes the good practice of adopting excise calendars that gradually change the tax burden, such as Serbia, Macedonia, AP Kosovo and Albania.
