27 September 2007
BEIRUT: Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday with the giant tobacco company Philip Morris to help end tobacco and cigarette smuggling into the country.
Philip Morris plans to train the Lebanese Regie company, a government controlled entity which hold a monopoly in the production of tobacco and import of cigarettes, to detect counterfeited cigarettes.
Finance Minister Jihad Azour said the agreement with Philip Morris will boost the confidence of companies in Lebanon and turn the country into a regional business hub.
Officials say the smuggling is depriving the treasury with millions of dollars in revenues.
Regie and Philip Morris will also exchange information on cigarette smuggling and disclose the names of the smugglers.
Regie imports raw tobacco and cigarettes into Lebanon from international manufactures.
At present, Regie is liable to pay all custom duties on the importation of tobacco products into Lebanon. There are no master commercial agreements between Regie and international tobacco manufacturers.
The Regie determines the quantity of goods to be imported each year according to market demand. The import process is agreed upon between Regie and the international companies at the beginning of each year.
However, the company can from time to time place orders with the international tobacco manufacturers for specific quantities of specific brands, and agrees with the manufacturers on the prices and delivery dates for such orders based on anticipated sales, existing inventory and goods in transit. - The Daily Star
