The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has said tax and customs officers will be taking measures to clamp down on the hoarding of heat-not-burn cigarettes in advance of planned price hikes by manufacturers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“Tax and customs officers will team up with local governments to check manufacturers, importers and sellers to prevent them from hoarding the products for the next three weeks,” Yonhap reported. Inventories and sales records are to be checked as far back as three months.
Market leader, the South Korean unit of Philip Morris International, hiked the price of its HEETS heat-not-burn consumable by nearly 4.7 per cent to KRW 4,500 (EUR 3.45) last month and Korean tobacco company KT&G plans to increase pack prices of its Fiit heat-not-burn consumable to KRW 4,500 next week. BAT is also considering adjusting prices of its glo heat-not-burn consumable, the agency said.