Exclusive | Hong Kong to slap tobacco products with laser labels to root out contraband
Sources say authorities studying updating law to introduce new labelling system, which involves goods being marked with laser
Tobacco products in Hong Kong will need to carry laser labels to show they are legitimate goods, in a bid by local authorities to crack down on black-market cigarettes, the Post has learned.
Sources said authorities were studying how to update existing legislation to ensure the adoption of the labelling system, which involved goods being marked with a laser, to distinguish between duty-paid cigarettes and untaxed tobacco products.
One source said an exemption period was likely to be granted to tobacco companies to sell their products without the new label.
He said the labelling system was primarily designed to target criminals attempting to pass off untaxed cigarettes as legally duty-paid ones by using packages carrying statutory health warnings.
Such contraband cigarettes are known as “cheap whites” and are understood to be sold to retailers such as news-stands and groceries, enticing them with the promise of high profits by distributing untaxed tobacco products.
The increase in tobacco tax in February’s budget pushed the average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes up by HK$16 (US$2) to more than HK$90, with tax accounting for HK$66 of the sale price.
