A report from the Strategy and Finance Committee has found that a tax on tobacco leaves has led imports of nicotine extracted from stems and roots, which are non-taxable, to increase from five tons in 2016 to 90 tons in 2017 and 175 tons in 2018, Korea Bizwire reported.

Special consumption taxes for cigarettes manufactured with leaves, which were introduced early in the year in South Korea, have led non-taxable imports to surge, according to the report.
According to recent data from the Strategy and Finance Committee, imports of nicotine solutions extracted from leaves fell from 17 tons in 2016 to 7 tons in 2017 and 6 tons in 2018.
The committee said that importers often report nicotine solutions as being derived from stems and roots in order to avoid taxes the burden of special consumption taxes.
Analysts said that the authorities should contemplate making stems and roots of tobacco leaves taxable in order to stop false reporting and tax evasion, according to the report.