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PROTOCOL TO ELIMINATE ILLICIT TRADE IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS: ARTICLE 12 (FREE ZONES AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT) SURVEY TO PARTIES ON EXPERIENCES, GOOD PRACTICE AND CHALLENGESThe Secretariat of the WHO FCTC and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products commissioned a report to showcase experiences in controlling the supply chain of tobacco and tobacco products in free trade zones (FTZ's). The report was presented at the first meeting of the working group on assistance and cooperation under the Protocol, to facilitate discussions on how to disseminate good practices in implementation of Article 12. As only very few Protocol Parties have responded to these questions before the working group meeting, the group decided to relaunch these questions to gather more information. The questionnaire has slightly been adjusted to ensure that there is no repetition of questions in this questionnaire and the Protocol reporting instrument.Parties are kindly requested to submit their responses to these questions if they have free zones in their jurisdiction. The responses should be sent to Mr Dominique Nguyen (email: dnguyen@who.int) by 14 February 2020. ===QUESTIONSRESPONSE / COMMENTSNAME OF COUNTRY:STAFFINGNumber of staff working in the whole tax administrationNumber of staff working on excise mattersNumber of staff working in customsESTIMATES FOR PREVALENCE OF ILLICIT TOBACCOIs the country largely a source, transit or destination country for illicit tobacco?? Source? Transit? DestinationPlease provide details, if available. Please provide as much detail as possibleFREE TRADE ZONESNumber of free zones in the countryNumber of tobacco manufacturing facilities IN zonesNumber of tobacco manufacturing facilities in the country, OUTSIDE OF zonesWhat specific benefits accrue to entities in Zones? (Tick all that apply)Duty deferral on exports?Inverted tariff preference (e.g., lower duty paid on finished goods than on imported components/raw materials)?Reduced reporting requirements – less detailed reporting?Reduced reporting requirements – less frequent reporting?Less frequent inspections and audits?No inspections and audits?No or reduced sureties required?Less scrutiny of consignments in transit?No scrutiny of consignments in transit?Less stringent licensing requirements?Fewer physical stops or unpacks of containers?Other (please specify)?Please provide as much detail as possibleEXTRA-TERRITORIALITY (open-ended questions)To what extent is compliance in free trade zones enforced?Please provide as much detail as possibleTo what extent is compliance enforced in respect of transit trade / transshipmentsPlease provide as much detail as possible To what extent is customs involved in approving entities operating in FTZ's?Please provide as much detail as possible Is data kept on the volumes of tobacco and related inputs (e.g., raw leaf tobacco, filters and filter material, paper, packaging etc.) that enter, are handled and are exported from free trade zones? Yes? NoDoes the agency conduct any analysis comparing the volumes of cigarettes exported, to the volumes of cigarettes imported into declared destination countries?? Yes? NoROLE OF FTZ'S OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY (open-ended question)To what extent do illicit packs on the local market believed to come from FTZ’s in other countries?Please provide as much detail as possible GOOD SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY PRACTICESAre there any "know your customer" obligations on tobacco manufacturers to limit their sales and business transactions to known entities; and making all business transactions conditional on the company’s trading partners maintaining supply chain security good practices?? Yes? NoAre there any legal obligations on FTZ domiciled companies (e.g., importers, exporters, distributors) to provide calculations and estimates or other proof that their export volumes match the legitimate demand in the destination country? ("commensurate demand calculations")? Yes? NoWhich security features do tax stamps for tobacco products contain (mark all that are applicable with an "x")? None ?Alpha-numeric codes from tobacco industry?Alpha-numeric codes from other solution providers?Visible security features?Invisible security features?Taggants?Machine readable codes e.g., bar codes, QR codes?Forensic security features ?Non-removable/Tamper-evident?Other (please specify) ?Please provide as much detail as possible Unknown?Effectiveness of marking of tobacco productsDoes the way cigarette packs are marked… (check all that are applicable)... make it possible to identify their origin - i.e. at which factory they were manufactured? ? Yes? No... enable identifying their movement through the supply chain, i.e. from manufacturer to distributor to retailer, etc.?? Yes? No... indicate their intended final destination (e.g. "for export only" or "for sale in country x only")?? Yes? NoHow are tobacco products that are held or moved under suspension of duties monitored and controlled? (mark all that are applicable with an "x")? No or limited controls?Documentary controls only?Basic container seals?Smart seals?TIR Carnet or other surety?Electronic or other tracking controls (e.g. RFID, GPS) ?Prohibition on co-mingling of tobacco products in a container with other products ?Other (please specify)?Please provide as much detail as possibleHow is the intermingling of tobacco in a container with other goods managed? Please provide as much detail as possibleIf "other" means are used to enforce prohibition on intermingling of tobacco with other commodities in containers, please provide detailsPlease provide as much detail as possibleUSE OF ADVANCED TECHNIQUESTo what extent are the following advanced techniques used in clamping down on illicit tobacco?Special investigative techniques: controlled deliveries surveillance; undercover operations Please provide as much detail as possibleUse of intelligence from other law enforcement agenciesPlease provide as much detail as possibleJoint operations with other government agencies Please provide as much detail as possibleTraceability of containers / consignments using technology e.g. RFID / GPS etc. Please provide as much detail as possibleBusiness intelligence software and analytics Please provide as much detail as possibleJoint enforcement interventions with industry Please provide as much detail as possibleMulti-tax audit and inspection teams (excise, customs, VAT, income tax) Please provide as much detail as possiblePost-seizure investigations Please provide as much detail as possibleMoney-laundering / follow-the-money-type investigationsPlease provide as much detail as possibleADDITIONAL COMMENTSHas the agency adopted any specific good practice measures or initiatives that have allowed it to manage the risk of illicit goods being manufactured in or transited through free trade zones? ? Yes? NoHas the agency adopted any specific good practice measures or initiatives that have allowed it to better manage the risk of illicit goods IN TRANSIT?? Yes? NoHas the agency adopted any specific good practice measures or initiatives in respect of prohibiting the INTERMINGLING of tobacco products in a container with other products?? Yes? NoOther observations on the management of FTZ's, transit trade and intermingling of tobacco in a container with other goods?Please provide as much detail as possibleThank you for participating in this survey. Your responses will be brought to the attention of the working group on assistance and cooperation. ................
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