Pankucsi acknowledged changes to the market’s structure after the introduction of a state monopoly on retail tobacco sales in July, saying inventories and prices had not yet balanced out. He explained that excise tax revenue depends not on retail sales, but on the purchase of tax stamps, adding that because the market is dominated by just a few players, a decision by a single company could have a big impact on that revenue.
Business daily Napi Gazdaság reported earlier this week that a decline in tobacco sales could cause a HUF 40 billion shortfall in revenue from excise tax and VAT this year.
National Economy Minister Mihály Varga said earlier that a drop in excise tax revenue from cigarettes in July and August – the first two months after the introduction of a state monopoly on retail tobacco sales – was in part due to higher sales in the base period, when shops stocked up on cigarettes before a tax rise. He also said tobacco sellers bought a record number of excise tax stamps in August, the effect of which would be seen mostly in September.
The ministry will not publish detailed data on excise tax revenue in October until November 21.
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