Yesterday the Council of Ministers definitively approved the legislative decree on the taxation of tobacco, with the new excise duties coming into force from 2015.
THEincrease in the price of cigarettes it will be between twenty and forty cents and will concern packages costing up to 4 euros and 40 cents. The brands with the lowest prices will be the most affected, while for the more expensive cigarettes the variations will be minimal. In any case, it is not yet certain that the producers will decide to pass on all the increases on the final price of the product.
Le electronic cigaretteson the other hand, they will cost less: on this front, the Government has accepted the conditions set by the Finance Commissions of the Chamber and Senate. The decree that reorders excise duties, in fact, provides for an increase in the discount of up to 50%. On the other hand, the prices of vials to refill e-cigarettes will grow.
Also foreseen is the overcoming of the minimum excise duty already rejected by Brussels, the introduction of the minimum tax burden including VAT and the "specific" measure of taxation which passes from 7 to 10%.
The decree then eliminates the consumption tax on matches, liberalizing its production and sale. On the front resales, in municipalities with up to 2.000 inhabitants, the minimum requirements for the establishment of "licences" for the sale of tobacco in public establishments will be adjusted downwards.
The decree had already obtained the green light from the CDM last November 10, but the Government later implemented the observations contained in the parliamentary opinions, inserting some changes.
In fact, the latest version of the text contains more detailed information on products similar to smokeless inhalation tobaccos. For this reason it was deemed appropriate to submit the draft legislative decree again to the opinion of the parliamentary commissions, which gave the go ahead without making any comments.
