Korea - South: Important Boost for Duty-free Tobacco

Source from:  DFNI (uk)  11/22/2012

The illicit trade protocol has been adopted in Seoul without calls for a ban on duty-free tobacco sales.

Duty-free tobacco sales were given a boost today (November 13) with the adoption of the illicit trade protocol at the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Seoul as its text does not include a ban on duty-free tobacco, although it does subject the channel to further scrutiny in the future.
 
Following the adoption of the protocol, it needs to be ratified by individual states. Once the protocol has been ratified by at least 40 countries, it will come into effect and become binding on signatory parties.
 
Earlier this year, at the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB5) in Geneva the parties involved agreed a way forward to tackle the illicit trade of tobacco, marking the end of a process spanning five years to defend duty-free tobacco sales from claims that they contributed to illicit trade.
 
European Travel Retail Confederation secretary general Keith Spinks told DFNIonline: "As per the original agreement they would not go back to review what had been decided at the INB5, so it was reasonably straightforward. What it means now is that it will open for signature next year, and once 40 countries sign up it becomes binding on the parties that ratified it. What happens then depends on how fast countries sign up to it, and then we can start looking at all the rules and provisions of the protocol.
 
He added: "We are now back where we were at INB5, when the parties agreed that within five years of the adoption of the protocol an investigation into duty-free would take place [to ascertain the extent of any link between duty-free sales and illicit trade]. We are happy with that." Enditem