Several civic groups yesterday urged the government to halt sales of duty-free cigarettes at the nation’s airports to put an end to the rampant practice of people buying large quantities of tax-exempt tobacco products and selling them to youngsters for a profit.
“Since last year, we have been receiving anonymous complaints that a growing number of tobacco brokers, duty-free shop employees, airport workers, or tourist guides have taken advantage of the nature of their professions to buy large quantities of duty-free cigarettes abroad or at the nation’s airports and smuggle them into the country,” John Tung Foundation chief executive officer Yao Shi-yuan (姚思遠) said yesterday in a press release.
Yao said nearly 33 million packs of cigarettes are smuggled into the country each year this way, with an estimated market value of NT$3.6 billion (US$120 million).
“Allowing such products to enter the local market not only puts public health at risk, but it also costs the government about NT$1.3 billion in tax revenue each year,” Yao said.
Chen Shu-li (陳淑麗), a permanent voluntary worker at the foundation, said that the huge price difference — about NT$300 to NT$400 per carton — between duty-free tobacco and that sold locally is fueling the trade for smuggled goods.
“Due to their relatively low price, duty-free cigarettes are particularly appealing to teenagers who live on a limited allowance,” Chen said, urging the government to immediately stop selling duty-free cigarettes for the sake of the health of young people and national security.
Consumers’ Foundation honorary chairman Jason Lee (李鳳翱) said that although government regulations limit the number of duty-free cigarettes that Taiwanese tourists can bring in to one carton, violators only face a fine of NT$500 without any criminal penalties.
“Such a regulation exists in name only and explains why the airports have become a hotbed for smugglers of duty-free tobacco,” Lee said.
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