De La Rue Authentication, delivering revenue protection and more

In the wake of growing economic risks and rising inflation, Governments will be considering how they can address national balance sheets. According to the IMF public and private debt has reached new record highs and "countries will face increasingly difficult policy trade-offs as they tackle rising inflation, heightened macro-financial risks, and slowing growth." Digital Tax Stamp schemes enable governments to optimize collection of excise revenues and to close tax gaps caused by illicit trade.

The World Bank stated that there are annual losses of between $40 billion and $50 billion from tobacco alone through illicit trade. Increased tax receipts help stabilise economies, providing security for jobs, trade and the health and wellbeing of citizens and provide wider benefits by making a country more attractive to foreign direct investment in manufacturing.

The World Economic Forum values illicit trade as a $2.2 trillion industry that undermines excise revenues, damages business, harms consumers and benefits criminals. An OECD study published in 2019 (Trends in Trade in Counterfeited and Pirated Goods) estimated that counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for more than 3% of global trade, a value in excess of $500bn based on customs seizure data; this value is significantly higher if it includes genuine products traded illicitly.

De La Rue Authentication works with countries to implement projects that deliver excise revenue certainty, thereby protecting nations and their citizens from the impact of illicit trade.

Our Digital Tax Stamp solutions operate by linking unique identifiers to products, enabling the full traceability of genuine goods and the collection of tax revenues. For tobacco, the solutions are compliant with the requirements of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention of Tobacco Control, Illicit Trade Protocol.

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Engaging Stakeholders to Deliver Certainty

By engaging with all stakeholders, providing advice, support and project management across government and industry, De La Rue Authentication provides expert security solutions that are relevant and achievable. This means early engagement across a global and diverse set of actors, from the Ministries of Finance or Tax Authorities implementing the scheme, to Customs Agencies, Health Administrations, field enforcement teams, standards organisations, importers, manufacturers, supply chain agents and the general public.

From ensuring schemes are effectively implemented across multiple manufacturers’ production sites, through to providing training for individual revenue and customs officers, De La Rue scales and implements projects and solutions to meet each country’s specific needs, taking into account the requirements of all its various stakeholders.

Enhancing Data and Security

Digital tax stamp schemes provide, generate and secure excise revenues and protect citizens from dangerous illicit product. Through our DLR Certify™ platform De La Rue offers a range of modular solutions that can be quickly and efficiently deployed and provide tax authorities with an independent view and data analytics to control and audit the movement of legitimate product. Governments can protect their revenues, citizens and trade by implementing a scheme developed by De La Rue with three core elements:

Secure marking of products
Supply-chain traceability and data management
Product authentication and inspection

Find out more about our DLR Certify Platform

Enforcing Measurable Results

Through the verification of the production volume of the excise goods, governments can confirm that the collected excise taxes match with the genuine volume of goods manufactured and imported. This must work in conjunction with inspections and law enforcement.

De La Rue Authentication has helped reduce illicit trade across the globe. In one country, the illicit trade in tobacco products dropped from 68% to an estimated 5%, while tax revenues from products rose to 15 times its previous level – becoming the second highest source of national income, after fuel.

De La Rue focuses on getting results that deliver for every one of its customers. This means implementing tailored revenue protection solutions on time and to budget. With over 200 years of experience, De La Rue has developed a business record and reputation that nations can rely on.

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Case studies

United Arab Emirates

In partnership with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), De La Rue delivered a Digital Tax Stamp (DTS) solution to track and trace tobacco products to carry both a physical tax stamp and digital code on their packaging. UAE Customs Authorities were fully trained and equipped to inspect, accept and approve all shipments which are being tracked from manufacturer through importer and into the supply chain in the UAE. The solution ensures that the UAE complies with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, designed to minimise illicit trade in tobacco-based products. The UAE has expanded its scheme and hailed their Excise Tax to be a great success.