STA, 7 July 2021 - The Finance Ministry has proposed a rise in excise duties on cigarettes that comes with an average 5% increase for a pack of cigarettes. The rise, which is expected to take effect in August, is reckoned to bring in an additional EUR 18 million a year.
Under the proposal, which will be coordinated among ministries and then discussed by the government at one of its forthcoming sessions, excise duty per 1,000 cigarettes will rise from EUR 120 to EUR 127. Taking into account the increase and VAT, the average price of a pack of cigarettes will stand at EUR 3.24 from 1 August.
The rise will also affect cigars, cigarillos, fine-cut tobacco and other types of smoking tobacco as well as heat-not-burn tobacco.
When it comes to electronic cigarettes, excise duty on nicotine-free e-cigarettes is to increase, whereas the duties for e-cigarettes that contain nicotine will not change, according to information about the proposal posted on the eAdministration website.
The last increase in excise duties for tobacco products was implemented in October 2020.
