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June 25th, 2011:

The Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and How to Tackle It

Download PDF : The Illicit Trade in%0d%0aTobacco Products and%0d%0aHow to Tackle It by the International Tax and Investment Center[1]

Tax Stamp Market from China

www.hgimage.com

Wuhan Huagong Image Technology & Development Co. Ltd (HG Image) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huagong Tech Co Ltd, which was founded in1999. Based in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and the most populous city in central China, the company went public in 2000 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

It has the backing of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), a renowned university able to provide strong R&D support. The company is accredited to ISO 9001:14001 and its core businesses include laser technology, opto-electronics and holography. The main products are thermistors, optical communication modules, laser and processing equipment, laser welded diamond tools and other related products.

It also produces holographic anticounterfeiting and packaging products for tobacco, food and wine. Its main market is the former, and long-standing customers include Baisha Tobacco, producers of China’s leading cigarette brand. Annual holographic output is around 5 billion labels and 50 million sq m of holographic packaging films. And for more than two years now, the company has also been manufacturing and supplying tax stamps to export markets, according to Jin Yong, Assistant General Manager. In the company’s display area, a bottle of vodka had a sophisticated tax stamp with 2D barcode, alphanumeric code and demetalised holographic stripe. The cyrillic script indicated a Russian product but Mr Jin could not grant permission to photograph the bottle on grounds of client confidentiality. It was mentioned that HG Image supplies a tax stamp to Azerbaijan. As has been previously reported in Tax Stamp News, along with several other companies, HG Image is interested in the possibility of a tobacco stamp for the Philippines and has visited that country with a proposal but, so far, no contract has been awarded.

When asked if HG Image could supply more than just the tax stamps, Mr Jin replied that they were in a position to supply the complete fulfillment and track and trace systems to accompany the stamps.

It appears that HG Image has only started producing tax stamps recently, but the technical support available to it from the government-sponsored university implies that through this channel, China could soon become a significant player in the world tax stamp market.

HG Image is a member of the IHMA (International Hologram Manufacturer’s Association), the China National Anti-Counterfeit Engineering Research Center and the FSEA (Foil Stamping and Embossing Association).

Contact: www.hgimage.com;

New US Tobacco Excise Stamp Solution Unveiled by Meyercord Revenue

www.taxstampforum.com – May/June 2011

Download PDF : tsn_may-jun_ 2011

Sixty-three held in smuggling probe

http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/news.htm?main&20110625&56&765137

25-06-2011
Customs officers have arrested 63 people during a major operation against the cigarette smuggling.

They have also seized illicit cigarettes worth about 23-million dollars during raids on 41 warehouses. The head of the smuggling operation is said to be among those detained. Officers said the syndicate delivered the cigarettes to dealers by courier, and buyers would place orders with the dealers over the phone.