Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 gazetted today For combating illicit cigarettes, the C&ED will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach and take stringent enforcement actions on all fronts to combat the sale of illicit cigarettes. The C&ED is making preparations at full steam for the implementation of the duty stamp system, which enables frontline officers, the industry, as well as the general public to more effectively distinguish between duty-paid and duty-not-paid cigarettes and combats “cheap-whites” on the market. A pilot scheme, expected to be rolled out in early October, will enable the C&ED to inspect the entire process from the production of cigarettes, their storage in bonded warehouses to their rollout on the market after duty payment. The first phase of the duty stamp system will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2026, with full implementation targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
The C&ED has strengthened publicity for arriving passengers at sea, land and air control points. These measures include displaying new large-sized posters and presenting information on monthly statistics on the number of cases involving seizure of excessive tobacco and relevant penalties, aiming to remind passengers of the duty-free concession limit on cigarettes that they can bring into Hong Kong and the new penalties for offences related to illicit cigarettes. In addition, the C&ED, together with District Council members, has recently conducted inter-departmental anti-illicit cigarette publicity activities across various districts in Hong Kong, and will conduct publicity on television, radio, newspapers, and social media to raise citizens’ law-abiding awareness.Issued at HKT 10:35
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