Týden: Poles Sell Extremely Cheap Leaf Tobacco in CzechRep

Source from:  Prague Daily Monitor 04/17/2013

A Polish company is running a network of "Eko natural" shops selling extremely cheap tobacco leaves, which are not subject to excise tax, on the verge of law in the Czech-Polish border area in north Moravia, the weekly Tyden out Monday writes.

It says a kilo of such leaf tobacco costs merely 550 crowns, which is one-fifth of the price of the cheapest tobacco at a Czech tobacconist's.

Tyden recalls that in 2011 Polish businessmen launched "Amsterdam shops" in the Czech Republic offering synthetic drugs officially denoted as souvenirs. They were selling these narcotics legally for several months until the Czech Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, passed legislation banning synthetic drugs.

Poland imposed tax on tobacco leaves as from January 1, 2013 after long-time discussions and thus paralysed the trading in cheap tobacco completely. This is why its protagonists have decided to revive it in the neighbouring Czech Republic, Tyden writes.

Its reporter visited one of the Eko natural shops selling tobacco leaves, allegedly from Bulgaria, in Ostrava, north Moravia.

"Everything is legal, tobacco is a natural fertiliser and it is also used to fumigate greenhouses," a shop assistant told the weekly.

However, he was also discussing the tobacco smell, nicotine content and origin with customers attracted by low prices.

Such steps are still legal since tobacco leaves are not subject to excise tax in the Czech Republic yet.

But customers can also cut tobacco leaves in a cutting machine directly in the shop for a small fee, and thus the leaves turn into smoking staff on which they should pay a high excise tax. If not, both the customers and the shops violate law, Tyden writes.

"We do not know so far that someone is operating a shop in Ostrava in which leaf tobacco can be cut. In any case, it would violate several laws," Pavla Zdobnicka, spokeswoman for the Moravian-Silesian Regional Customs Directorate, told the weekly.

Tyden notes that the shop is only 150 metres from the office.

The owner of the chain with some 35 branches is the Adratan Invest company whose executive is Pole Stanislaw Wladyslaw Zakrzewski. He bought the firm from Czech Petr Brozda at the end of January, Tyden writes.

It says Zakrzewski is depriving the Czech state of high sums of excise tax on tobacco. In addition, his shops incite customers to violate law by cutting leaf tobacco.

Under Czech law, if someone cuts tobacco, they must report it to the customs authority and pay excise tax of 1635 crowns per kilo. Customs officers naturally confiscate illegal tobacco and launch administrative proceedings in which an individual faces a fine of up to 150,000 crowns.

If the seller, that is a legal entity, cuts tobacco for the customer, the fine can amount to several million crowns, Tyden adds.

The Polish Eko natural shops violate also other Czech regulations.

"Tobacco can be processed at a special tax warehouse, which is definitely not a shop. If we find out that tobacco is really being cut there, we can seize all equipment and goods," Zdobnicka said.

Not the vendors or customers' opinion can decide whether tobacco can be smoked or not but its qualities and processing are decisive. Cut tobacco is always qualified as smoking stuff that is subject to excise tax, Jiri Barta, from the Prague Customs Directorate, told Tyden.

"Similarly like rum remains alcohol even though you claim that you are buying it for lubricating your knees," he added.

Not only Czech customs officers mind the Adratan Invest's activity, but the tobacco industry representatives and the Health Ministry criticise it, too. The ministry points out that very cheap tobacco will increase the number of smokers. Enditem