The European Commission has completed a review of the EU Directive governing the taxation of tobacco products and says no changes will be made, Tax News reported, citing a report presented to the European Council.
Initiated in March 2016, the review examined the structure and rates of duties applied to manufactured tobacco.
Tax News said the report outlined six areas of the EU’s tobacco taxation policy that were under review: “the introduction of harmonised tax rules for e-cigarettes; improved oversight of the trade in raw tobacco; equalising tax rates for cigars and cigarillos with cigarettes; a potential review of rolling tobacco taxation compared with pre-made cigarettes, which are subject to higher tax rates; measures to tackle illicit trade in water-pipe tobacco; and a minimum excise duty across the EU on tobacco.”
The Commission will revisit the issue of tobacco taxes in 2018, including minimum excise duty rates, Tax News reported.