The Lithuanian parliament yesterday approved to raise excise duties for cigarettes, cigarillos, smoking tobacco and diesel fuel to the minimum set out by the European Union.

The new rates of excise duty will come into effect on 1 January 2011, reports The Baltic Course.
In accordance with EU requirements, the excise duty for all categories of cigarettes will be no less than LTL 221 (EUR 64) per 1,000 cigarettes from the following year. Until now, these tax levels have only be applied t o the “most popular” category of cigarettes.
The excise duty on smoking tobacco will grow from LTL 111 to LTL 139 per kg. As of 2013, the excise duty will be raised to LTL 163,  to LTL 187 in 2015, and to LTL 208 in 2018. The excise duty on cigars and cigarillos will be raised from LTL 38 to LTL 80 per kg.
The measures are part of a package that also provided for exemptions from the value-added tax for hotels and books, reversing increases the government passed after the economic slump hit at the end of 2008. (pi)