De La Rue, the world’s leading security and anti-counterfeiting solution provider, is pleased to announce that it has signed a £3.5million contract with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to implement a track and trace system for all tobacco products sold in the UK.
The five-year contract will see De La Rue implement a digital solution to track and trace the c1.7 billion cigarette and hand rolling tobacco packs sold in the UK each year through a unique identifier. Ensuring the traceability of all tobacco products is now a legal requirement under the EU Tobacco Products Directive, Article 15, with the specific aim of preventing the illicit trade of tobacco products throughout the EU and protecting citizens from counterfeit products which could be damaging to their health.
As part of the contract De La Rue will also manage the service for HMRC with all tobacco manufacturers, importers and relevant economic operators serving the UK tobacco products sector.
De La Rue has been helping governments and tax authorities around the world to fight illicit trade and protect tax revenue for decades. De La Rue launched its track and trace digital solution DLR Certify™ in 2015 as part of its strategy to bolster its software and services offerings. In 2018, it won a five-year contract to implement a full track and trace solution for the Federal Tax Authority in the UAE to be initially applied on tobacco products.
Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of De La Rue, said:
“As a result of our continued investment in the Product Authentication & Traceability market, we are delighted to be working with HMRC here in the UK to provide this track and trace service and to partner with them on rolling this out to the wider industry.”
Enquiries:
De La Rue plc +44 (0)1256 605000
Sinead Keller Head of Media
Lili Huang Head of Investor Relations
Brunswick +44 (0)207 404 5959
Azedeh Varzi
Stuart Donnelly
Notes to editors
EU Tobacco Products Directive is a directive of the European Union that aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for tobacco and related products, while ensuring a high level of health protection for EU citizens. It entered into force in May 2014 and became applicable in the EU Member States on 20 May 2016. Articles 15 and 16 of the Directive specify the purposes and requirements for the systems of traceability and security features for tobacco products to address the issue of illicit trade.
About De La Rue
De La Rue’s purpose is to enable every citizen to participate securely in the global economy. As a trusted partner of governments, central banks and commercial organisations, De La Rue provides products and services that underpin the integrity of trade, personal identity and the movement of goods.
As the world’s largest designer and commercial printer of banknotes, De La Rue designs, manufactures and delivers banknotes, banknote substrates and security features to customers in a world where currency will continue to be a key part of the developing payments eco-system. De La Rue is the only integrated supplier of both paper and polymer banknotes, and creates security features that ensure banknotes are protected against counterfeiting.
De La Rue is the world’s largest commercial designer and printer of passports, delivering national and international identity tokens and software solutions for governments in a world that is increasingly focused on the importance of a legal and secure identity for every individual.
De La Rue also creates and delivers secure product identifiers and ‘track and trace’ software for governments and commercial customers alike to help to tackle the challenge of illicit or counterfeit goods and the collection of revenue and excise duties.
De La Rue is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:DLAR). For further information visit www.delarue.com
