The European Union Council of Ministers, the bloc’s principal decision-making body, has adopted a directive updating EU rules on the structure and rates of excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products
 
"The directive is intended to ensure a higher level of public health protection by raising minimum excise duties on cigarettes, while bringing the minimum rates for fine-cut tobacco gradually into line with those for cigarettes," a media statement said.
 
The outcome of a fourth four-yearly review of tobacco taxation under various directives, the change is aimed at "modernising and simplifying the rules and making them more transparent," the statement said.
 
The EU Council of Ministers decided to increase, by January 1 2014, the monetary minimum excise rate to 90 euro a 1000 cigarettes and the proportional minimum to 60 per cent of the weighted average sales price, from 64 euro a 1000 and 57 per cent at present;
 
The new rules allow for transitional arrangements until January 1 2018 for member states that have not yet achieved, or only recently achieved, the current minimum rates.
 
These countries are Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
 
The directive allows member states not benefiting from the transition to impose a quantitative limit of at least 300 cigarettes on the number of cigarettes that may be brought into their territory from member states applying transitional arrangements.
 
It also allows member states applying those arrangements, once their rates have reached 77 euro a 1000 cigarettes, to apply quantitative limits with regard to member states whose rates have not yet reached an equal monetary level.
 
The Council decided to increase the minimum excise duty requirements for fine-cut tobacco as follows: member states will comply with either a proportional minimum or a monetary minimum, amounting to 40 per cent of the weighted average sales price and 40 euro a kg on January 1 2011, 43 per cent and 47 euro a kg on January 1 2013, 46 per cent and 54 euro a kg on January 1 2015, 48 per cent and 60 euro a on January 1 2018 and 50 per cent and 60 euro a kg on January 1 2020.