Poland is to implement a new law concerning excise duty on cigarettes, but tobacco companies lobby for different options.

The six main cigarette producers in Poland, a market worth PLN 19 billion (EUR 4.9 billion), split into two groups, reports local media.
Philip Morris and British American Tobacco (BAT) support changes in the present system of taxes. They would like a constant percentage rate (25 per cent of the price) and a quantity rate (paid for every 1,000 cigarettes). According to recent press reports, the ministry of finance plans such a change.
The second group, including Imperial Tobacco, Scandinavian Tobacco, Altadis and Gallaher, proposes equal taxes for cheaper and more expensive cigarettes. They propose to reach the excise duty required by EU, i.e. EUR 64 per 1,000 cigarettes, by a slight increase of the present percentage rate, i.e. to 35 per cent, and then by increasing only the quantity rate.
At the beginning of the year, BAT and Philip Morris had lowered prices in an attempt to avert higher taxation on more-expensive cigarettes. The move resulted in huge losses in revenue for the state budget. The new bill will be consulted by the ministry at the end of April.