烟草在线据印度亚洲新闻社报道编译　　为工业游说组织印度工商业联合会（Assocham）开展的一项研究说，印度的走私卷烟市场大约价值200亿卢比，它已经成为第六大走私卷烟市场，给印度政府的税收造成了巨额损失，并给大约500万烟农的生计造成了影响。这项研究还说，卷烟还可能成为恐怖活动资金的来源。

　　最近由在80个国家拥有分支机构的著名研究机构欧睿国际公司开展的一项调查说：“这些卷烟逃避缴纳消费税、增值税、关税，或任何其他应适用的税种，因而价格很便宜，很有吸引力。”

　　合法卷烟业在2006-07年期间的销量大约有1090亿支，在2010-11年期间则下降到大约1010亿支。与之形成对照的是，非法的逃税烟草则增长到了大约200亿支——占烟草业的大约16%，在2004年至2011年期间增长了82%，使得印度成为世界上第六大非法卷烟市场。

　　欧睿国际公司估计，印度的非法卷烟量将进一步增长，到2016年，将占整个烟草业的23%以上。

　　欧睿国际说，“印度的绝大多数走私卷烟为加长型卷烟，其零售价格在每包20支装80卢比。”因此，这部分烟草逃避缴纳的税额也是最高的。

　　根据欧睿国际所开展的研究说，“印度走私卷烟的市场规模大约每年为200亿卢比，它正威胁着500万烟农的生计。走私卷烟的问题在城市市场尤其严重，但它也是印度全国存在的问题。”

　　由于走私卷烟不使用印度产烟草，“这种情况恶化了印度烟农面临的不利局面，给他们的生计带来了威胁。”

　　这项研究说：“非法走私卷烟所占的份额不断增长，是造成市场对国内合法烟草业所使用的优质印度产烟叶的需求遭到重大侵蚀的原因。世界卫生组织和国际媒体的公文明确显示，面临着国内市场销售下滑的国际跨国卷烟公司，正试图扩大在发展中国家的业务。”

　　重要的是，走私卷烟没有印制《卷烟和其他烟草产品法案》所规定的图片健康警语，“因为危及到政府的烟草控制政策。”

　　这项研究说：“由于走私卷烟的烟盒上没有印制MRP，走私者和贸易代理商取得了客观的利润。在像孟买、德里、普纳、班加罗尔和海德拉巴这样的城市，走私卷烟的贸易甚至是无耻地公开进行：几乎在每个卷烟销售点都可以找到各种走私卷烟品牌，消费者可以轻松找到自己选择的卷烟的走私货。”

　　走私卷烟从中国、缅甸、孟加拉国、印度尼西亚、巴基斯坦、海湾、南亚各国，甚至欧洲走私进入印度。

　　这项研究说：“在全球来看，也有文件和报告证实卷烟走私与犯罪和反社会力量之间的关系。在印度也一样，也存在着关于除了别的方面以外，走私卷烟贸易是有组织犯罪和促进恐怖活动的装备的可能资金来源的猜想。”

　　研究说：“显然，必须以更严格、更持久和更有组织的方式开展遏制走私卷烟进入印度的行动。”

India 6th Largest Market for Contraband Cigarettes

　　At an estimated Rs.2,000 crore, India has become the sixth largest market for contraband cigarettes, casing huge revenue losses to the government and affecting the livelihoods of some five million tobacco farmers, says a study conducted for industry lobby Assocham. It could be a source of terror funding too, adds the study.

　　"These cigarettes evade the payment of excise, VAT, customs or any other applicable tax and are thus cheaply and attractively priced," says a recent study conducted by reputed research organisation Euromonitor that has a presence in 80 countries.

　　The legitimate cigarette industry, which was at 109 billion sticks in 2006-07, dropped to about 101 billion in 2010-11. In contrast, the illegal, duty-evaded segment has grown to about 20 billion cigarettes - about 16 percent of the industry, having grown by 82 percent between 2004 and 2011, making India the sixth largest illicit cigarettes market in the world.

　　Euromonitor estimates that illicit cigarette volumes in India will further grow and contribute more than 23 percent of the total industry size by 2016.

　　It says that "the vast majority of smuggled cigarettes in India are king size cigarettes, which retail at Rs.80 per pack of 20 cigarettes". The duty evasion therefore, is the highest in this segment.

　　According to the study, "the size of the contraband cigarettes market in India is about Rs.2,000 crore per annum and is threating the livelihoods of five million tobacco farmers. The problem of contraband cigarettes is especially severe in urban markets, but it is also endemic to India as a whole".

　　Since the contraband cigarettes do not use Indian tobaccos, "this aggravates the adverse situation faced by Indian tobacco farmers and threatens their livelihood".

　　"The growing share of illegal, contraband cigarettes has been responsible for significant erosion in demand for good quality Indian tobaccos, used by the domestic legal industry. It has been well documented by the WHO as well as the international media that international cigarette MNCs, faced with declining sales in their home markets, are seeking to expand their business in developing countries," the study says.

　　Significantly, the smuggled cigarettes do not carry the Graphical Health Warnings mandated by the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) "thus endangering the tobacco control policy of the government".

　　"In the absence of printed MRP on the pack of contraband cigarettes, smugglers and agents of the trade make a handsome margin. In cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, trade in contraband cigarettes is conducted with brazen openness: a variety of smuggled brands are found at almost every cigarette selling outlets and consumers can find their smuggled brand of choice with ease," the study says.

　　Contraband cigarettes are smuggled into India from China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Gulf, Southeast Asian countries and even Europe.

　　"Globally there are documents and reports that confirm the nexus between contraband in cigarettes and criminal, anti-social elements. In India, too, there have been speculations about the contraband cigarettes trade being - among other things - a possible source of funds for organized crime and outfits promoting terror.

　　"Clearly, the drive to curb the entry of contraband cigarettes into India needs to be undertaken in a more stringent, sustained and organized manner," the study says. Enditem