Tobacco Excise Budget Received 724 Million GEL

Vano Machavariani spoke about the taxation of tobacco and tobacco products in the Parliament within the Minister's hours.

The Minister noted that it would be impossible to have a fair business environment if the taxation of different businesses operating in one area would be different.

He said that last year this legislative gap was rectified and the administration simplified.

“The pre-existing system of excise tax on tobacco allowed the non-taxable sale of tobacco. This, on the one hand, reduced budget revenues, on the other hand, put the whole sector in unequal conditions. Excise taxation depended on the amount of packaging, which was corrected by changes made last year. There was also a different excise tax rate for different types of cigarettes, which led to a large loss in excise tax revenue. Excise rate equalization has significantly improved the administration process, ”the Finance Minister said.

The Minister also presented statistics. According to his data, more than 1,500 cigarettes are stored/traded in 2019 and more than 470,000 boxes of cigarettes have been seized.

"These measures have produced substantial results and last year alone, the excise tax on tobacco products exceeded GEL 724 million, which is a historical maximum. With the results achieved, we can clearly say that there is a substantial improvement in the excise tax administration, and this confirms the correctness of our steps, ”Ivane Machavariani said.