The smuggling of tobacco goods is growing in Ukraine and legal cigarette production is decreasing, according to experts.
"From 15% to 20% of consumed tobacco goods in Ukraine are unrecorded products imported to the country without the payment of any taxes or duties," the press service of the Ukrainian Trade and Industrial Confederation reported.
According to approximate assessments by the confederation, cigarette smuggling totaled 12-13 billion items over nine months of the current year, while there were 10-12 billion items over the whole 2009. At the same time, the production of tobacco goods in the country over January-November fell by 10.5% to 92.9 billion items compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the confederation, such a situation occurred due to stricter excise policies.
