HCM City (VNS/VNA)- Cigarette smuggling has caused a loss of thousands of billions ofVietnamese dong each year for the State, according to figures released bythe Vietnam Tobacco Association at a symposium held on July 23 in the MekongDelta city of Can Tho.

The tobacco industry contributes around 20 trillion VND (864.76 million USD) tothe State revenue annually, and has created jobs for millions of workers,helping eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, according to the Vietnam TobaccoAssociation.

However, while the production and trading of cigarettes in the country isstrictly managed by law, cigarette smuggling has increased, causing losses tothe State.

According to Nguyen Triet, General Secretary of the Vietnam TobaccoAssociation, despite strict laws, cigarette smugglers have become moredifficult to handle because cigarettes are light, easily transported, and bringhigh profits.

Cigarettes are subject to a range of taxes, including 70 percent specialconsumption tax, 10 percent value added tax, and 135 percent import tax.

Smugglers of cigarettes are mainly jobless residents living on the border,mostly with Cambodia, who know the area well and understand the language of thebordering country.

The smugglers are also willing to fight back to escape from authorised forces.

In March, policemen were seriously injured by groups of smugglers after theywere caught and held in detention in Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces.

Colonel Nguyen Quoc Khoi, deputy head of the Economic Police Department of theCan Tho city Police, said in the first six months of the year, policediscovered 58 smuggling cases and arrested 50 smugglers, confiscating 77,000packages of cigarettes.

The smuggled cigarettes were usually split into small parcels and disguisedcarefully, he added.

On January 1, the Criminal Law officially took effect. It stipulates that theact of smuggling of cigarettes of 1,500 bags or more will be subject tocriminal liability.

Despite this, the situation has worsened, especially in border areas.

One problem is the Government plan to increase the special consumption tax forcigarettes to 75 percent.

According to the association, 300 billion VND has been allocated foranti-smoking programmes, but none of the amount is used for prevention ofcigarette smuggling.

The association said it would propose the Government, the Ministry of Healthand the Ministry of Finance allow the association to use 50 percent of theallocated amount for smuggling prevention activities.

The meeting was organised by the Vietnam Tobacco Association in collaborationwith the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Can Tho city.-VNS/VNA