The parliament of Georgia is to discuss the bill of amendments providing for reduction of the GEL 0.9-0.7 excise duty for tobacco to GEL 0.5 the next week.

According to the bill, imported tobacco products and tobacco products produced in Georgia will be subjected to one and the same tax, Prime-News news agency was told by Giorgi Isakadze, executive director of the Georgian Businessmen Federation.
According to him, 25 to 30 per cent reduction of tax would not eradicate smuggle and the federation recommended the government to reduce exciseduty for tobacco produced in Georgia to GEL 0.4. As Prime-News was told by Zurab Aghniashvili, corporative manager of British American Tobacco, the planned reduction of excise duty will considerably reduce smuggling of cigarettes from Armenia and Azerbaijan, but to eradicate smuggle from Turkey and Russia tax must be as low as GEL 0.35-0.4.
According to him, share of smuggled tobacco products has increased from 17 per cent to 50 per cent since March 2005 in the Georgian market, a development which he attributed to introduction of GEL 0.7-0.9 excise in January. (pi)