The crackdown on the black market of tobacco and tobacco products in Bosnia and Herzegovina has led to a significant decrease in illegal activities. Indirect Tax Administration and other enforcement agencies have seized about 12.5 million marks worth of contraband in the past five years. With the main supplier of illegal cigarettes in the region, the Port of Bar, shut down in Montenegro, the prices of legal and illegal tobacco have nearly equalized, reducing the incentive for illegal trade.
The decrease in the black market is evident from the increase in issued excise stamps, which have risen by 57% in recent years. This shift from illegal to legal sales is expected to boost excise tax revenue, potentially exceeding one billion marks for the first time this year.
While the black market has shrunk, illegal activities still persist with the sale of unregulated tobacco and cigarettes on street corners. Efforts to combat illegal trade have been effective, but there is still work to be done to eliminate it completely and redirect revenue back into the state budget.