Legislation to standardise packaging for tobacco products would require removal of the 12-digit code used by tobacco companies and revenue authorities to monitor volume and combat illicit trade, Packaging News reported.

A letter from MP Ian Paisley Jr to Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Piri Patel states legislation to be voted on in March would require removing the Codentify code from tobacco packaging, Packaging News said. A three-year unprotected period would follow implementation of plain packaging slated for May, 2016, and 2019, when EU track-and-trace provisions are incorporated into UK law, Packaging News said, citing a statement from Japan Tobacco International (JTI). An European track and trace system is one of the provisions in the revised Tobacco Products Directive.
Developed by Philip Morris, Codentify is endorsed by other international companies including British American Tobacco, JTI and Imperial Tobacco.