The black market of cigarettes reached 10.4% of the total of consumption, in May this year, up by 9.8% in March, shows a study made by the research company Novel.According to data released by JTI on Monday, this is the highest level of smuggling since January 2020. The survey reveals that cigarette smuggling in May 2024 saw the highest increase in the Northeast, up 5.2 percentage points to 26.5%, followed by the Southeast (+2.6 percentage points to 7.4%), In terms of the origin of black market products, Duty Free continues to account for the largest share (36.3%), followed by the Republic of Moldova (up 7.4 p.p. to 23.3%) and Bulgaria (22.1%, up 1.6 p.p.). At the same time, the information centralized on the stopcontrabanda.ro platform, from the beginning of the year to date, shows that the authorities have seized some 34 million smuggled cigarettes, 75% of which in the south of the country. Compared to other European countries, there is a clear correlation between accessibility and the black market, with the highest rates in Ireland at 24.4% and France at 32.4%, according to the published statistics. In terms of penalties, in the first five months of the year, the Romanian Border Police seized about 1.3 million packs of cigarettes worth over 30 million lei. "During the period under review, border guards seized 6,300 kg of loose tobacco and 52 kg of hookah tobacco," said the inspector general of the Border Police, Police Superintendent Cornel-Laurian Stoica. Tobacco companies, big taxpayers, pay more than 20 billion lei annually to the state budget in excise duties, VAT and other taxes and contributions.
In the context in which agri-food systems are responsible for almost one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, Auchan Romania assumes an active role in the transition of its supply chain toward a more sustainable model. At the second edition of the Climate Supplier Event, organized under the aegis of the Climate Change Summit, the […]
Janiva Magness, the winner of seven Blues Music Awards following 26 nominations, and nominated for a Grammy for a career spanning 17 albums, is set to perform at the 14th edition of the Brașov Jazz & Blues Festival, which will take place between August 14–16, 2026. Magness is one of the most valuable and influential […]
Auction house Artmark announced a major auction for this winter featuring an engraving created by Francisco Goya, the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romania's late communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu received this gift from King Juan Carlos I as a gesture of diplomacy. The engraving entitled “The Engagement – Capricho […]
Authorities managing Romania's Bicaz Gorges–Hășmaș National Park has built a fish ladder system on the Bicaz River, which will allow protected species to migrate and reproduce. There are several bridges and small bridge structures in the Bicaz River that have a “bottom sill,” meaning small waterfalls. Fish that do not jump like the trout cannot […]
The far-right opposition parties in the Romanian Parliament are set to file a motion of no confidence against the government headed by prime minister Ilie Bolojan. The motion, authored by senator Ninel Peia of the Peace – Romania First group, is specifically aimed at the reformist party Save Romania Union (USR), and is entitled “Romania […]
Romania's iconic rock singer Adrian Pleșca, known as “Artan,” died on Tuesday, December 2, after a fatal stroke, at the age of 64. The artist founded the well-known band “Timpuri Noi” in 1982 and “Partizan” in 2001, and was popular on the Romanian rock scene. Over the years, he left and returned to the two bands. Several […]
