The government is tough on smuggled cigarettes.

Decree 124/2015 of the Government increases the administrative penalty for the act of trading, storing, and transporting smuggled cigarettes and reduces the quantity of evidence of violations by three times for criminal handling.

The Government has just issued Decree No. 124/2015/ND-CP (Decree 124) amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 185/2013/ND-CP dated November 15, 2013. In particular, the level of sanctions for violations related to smuggled cigarettes is more severe than before; the regulation on the quantity of evidence of smuggled cigarettes for criminal handling is reduced by three times.

Smuggling 500 bags: Can be prosecuted

According to Article 25 of Decree 124, for the act of trading in contraband goods such as smuggled cigarettes in quantities of 500 packs or more, the competent authority handling the case must immediately transfer the case file to the prosecution agency for consideration of criminal prosecution in accordance with the provisions of Article 62 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. In case the prosecution agency decides not to initiate criminal proceedings, the violator will be fined from 70 million VND to 100 million VND. In addition, Decree 124 also stipulates that the competent authority has the right to confiscate the means of transport used to transport smuggled tobacco materials in cases where the quantity of the evidence is 2,000 kg or more (Point b, Clause 4, Article 26 of Decree 124).

Authorities take strong action to deal with the problem of smuggled cigarettes. Photo: Contributor

Thus, compared to the old regulation (185/2013), Decree 124 has a much heavier penalty, reducing the number of smuggled cigarettes from 1,500 packs to 500 packs for criminal prosecution. Those who trade, transport, or possess 500 packs of smuggled cigarettes or more can receive a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

In addition, under current law, retailers of smuggled cigarettes can be criminally prosecuted if they re-offend during the effective period of the administrative penalty decision or if their criminal record for this crime has not been cleared.

For violations of less than 500 packs of smuggled cigarettes, the average fine is 100,000 VND per pack of smuggled cigarettes.

The unpredictable harm of smuggled Jet and Hero cigarettes

According to the authorities, smuggling, illegal transportation and trading of contraband cigarettes, especially Jet and Hero cigarettes, are taking place complicatedly across the country. Cigarette smugglers are reckless, daring and ready to fight back against the authorities when discovered or obstructed.

Not only that, the smuggling of Jet and Hero cigarettes is formed in the form of organizations, tight and sophisticated lines, with division of labor, even connections between "brokers" and shop owners in the country.

Currently, smuggled Jet and Hero cigarettes account for 20% of the total cigarette market share in Vietnam, causing a loss of up to 8,000 billion VND to the state budget and causing the loss of jobs to 5 million agricultural workers every year.

Jet and Hero smuggled cigarettes contain many toxic substances exceeding the permitted level, affecting men's reproductive health. According to research by the Institute of Tobacco Economics and Technology, these two types of smuggled cigarettes also contain Coumarin (a toxic ingredient in rat poison) and many other toxic substances, causing a serious reduction in sperm count and motility, leading to infertility.

Since the beginning of 2014, the National Assembly and the Prime Minister have made many strong decisions to prevent the trade of smuggled cigarettes. With the promulgation of Decree 124, increasing the level of penalties for the trade, storage and transportation of smuggled cigarettes as well as activities to strengthen inspection and handling of violations, the problem of smuggled cigarettes will be pushed back in the coming time.

According to phapluattp.vn