The authorities of Amsterdam, meeting the wishes of the citizens, are tightening the rules for the use of drugs and alcohol on the streets, which have long attracted visitors with its freedom of morality.
In May, cannabis smoking will be banned outdoors in the Red Light District due to complaints from residents who are disturbed by the mess made by tourists. In addition, sex workers will begin to stop working and close their establishments at 3 a.m. Also from 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays restaurants and bars will be closed and from 1 am will be stopped to let new visitors in the quarters of the Old Town of Amsterdam.
So far, the sale of alcohol in the red-light district is prohibited from four in the morning from Thursday to Sunday. In addition the authorities will now require the owners of the stores at this time to remove alcohol from the windows, and in general from sight. It is already illegal to drink alcohol in most public places in Amsterdam.
Current Dutch law criminalizes the possession, production and sale of drugs. However, law enforcement authorities do allow cannabis to be sold in coffee shops, subject to strict rules. In particular, these establishments must not disturb public order and do not attract foreign drug dealers.
In addition, the Amsterdam city council will launch a campaign in the spring aimed at discouraging tourists from the city who come here specifically for alcohol, drugs and sex.
Ministry of Finance of Ukraine has submitted a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers to increase the fee per excise tax stamp for alcoholic beverages to UAH 0.3205 from the current UAH 0.1926, and for tobacco products, tobacco-containing products for electric heating (TCHE) and e-cigarette liquids to UAH 0.1484 from UAH 0.091.
According to the text of the relevant government decree, which is available to the news agency Interfax-Ukraine, increase in price of excise stamps is necessary to compensate printing companies for the cost of their production and storage.
The Ministry of Finance in an explanatory memorandum to the draft decree states that the last time the cost of excise stamps for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products was revised more than 8 years ago and now their established value does not correspond to the actual cost of production.
For example, according to the stamp manufacturer, in 2022 alone, its costs for electricity for production are up 74% over 2021, 17% for heat, 107% for heating, 106% for hot water, and 6% for security.
“Prices per ton of paper in 2022, according to the commercial proposals of the National Bank of Ukraine, has already increased by more than 200%, and will increase in 2023 by at least 32.2% (since 2014, the price has increased 4.8 times),” the explanatory note to the draft resolution states.
In addition, the increase in the cost of energy and other resource components makes the issue of compensating the producer of stamps for the costs associated with their storage and sale relevant.
According to the document, 1.9 billion excise stamps for tobacco products and 0.56 billion stamps for alcoholic beverages will be produced by the end of 2022. At the same time for the first 9 months of this year 2.07 billion excise stamps were produced for the above products (2.91 billion in 2021).
Thus, the adoption of the draft decree would require next year for the Ukrainian producers and exporters of alcoholic beverages 71.6 million UAH (0.56 billion pieces * 0.1279 UAH) of additional costs, and for tobacco products – 108.3 million UAH (1.9 billion pieces * 0.057 UAH).
Imports to Ukraine of foreign alcoholic products labeled “Cognac”/”Cognac” have been suspended since November 1, 2022, as this name no longer meets the technical conditions for this drink, provided for by the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on Tuesday, this agreement, which entered into force on September 1, 2017, provides for mutual protection between the countries of a certain number of geographical indications (GI) in Ukraine, among which there is Cognac.
Thus, from November 1, the use of the name “Cognac” / “Cognac” in Ukraine for products originating from third countries no longer meets the technical requirements for the production of the drink “Cognac” and is now prohibited on the territory of Ukraine.
It is recalled that on January 24, 2022, as a result of the adoption of new regulations that include GI protection, the name “Cognac” / “Cognac” was included in the customs register, which is a prerequisite for the introduction of GI protection on the territory of Ukraine.
In addition, a transitional period has been established so that importers can change the labels on their products to comply with this GI. The transitional period has been extended until October 31, 2022 (inclusive), taking into account the aggression of the Russian Federation and the imposition of martial law in Ukraine.
“Starting from November 1, 2022, the Ukrvinprom Corporation, together with the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac, is responsible for the protection of the State Institution Cognac in the country and abroad and will take the necessary measures against products imported and presented under the name Cognac / Cognac “if they do not meet the technical conditions established for this GI in accordance with the Association Agreement signed between the EU and Ukraine,” summed up the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
Since July 5, Australia has marked tariffs on Ukrainian imports of goods, in addition to alcohol, fuel and tobacco, as a support package for a year, according to the website of the Australian Department of Trade and Tourism.
As indicated by the agency, we are talking about reducing tariffs from 5% to zero for a period of 12 months for a number of goods that are produced or produced in Ukraine. At the same time, it is clarified that duties equivalent to excises remain in force, for example, those that apply to fuel, alcohol and tobacco products.
According to the report, such measures from Australia and other states support the economy of Ukraine and expand its trading opportunities, and they are also important for Ukraine’s recovery in the near and long term.
According to the report, in 2021, Ukrainian exports to Australia amounted to $122 million.
The simplified customs control regime does not apply to ethyl alcohol, alcohol, beer, tobacco and tobacco products and liquids for electronic cigarettes, the European Business Association (EBA) explained, citing the clarifications of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance.
As the EBA pointed out in a message on the website, the simplified method provides for customs control and customs clearance of goods, in particular vehicles, imported into the customs territory of Ukraine, without the collection of customs payments, including value added tax, excise tax, import duty.
The importer provides the customs authority with a preliminary customs declaration without customs inspection, without the use of phytosanitary control, measures of non-tariff regulation of foreign economic activity (except for state export control) directly at the checkpoints across the state and customs borders of Ukraine, the association said, based on clarifications.
“However, the simplified customs control and clearance regime will not apply to certain goods, in particular ethyl alcohol, alcoholic beverages, beer, tobacco products, tobacco, liquids used in electronic cigarettes,” the report says.
In addition, it is emphasized that the issuance of licenses, in particular for the import of goods, has now been stopped. Resumption of the suspended terms will occur within a month after the termination or cancellation of martial law.
Attempts by the authorities to limit the list of places for the sale of alcohol and tobacco products, contained in bill No. 5805, registered on July 19 by MP Heorhiy Mazurashu (Servant of the People faction), will lead to an increase in the price of these products, and create additional financial burden for business, therefore it should be rejected, the European Business Association (EBA) said on its website on Friday.
According to the explanatory note to the document, the bill proposes to limit the sale of beer (except non-alcohol), alcohol, low-alcohol beverages, table wines, tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, liquids used in electronic cigarettes, devices for consuming tobacco products without heating them only to specialized fixed outlets (shops) where no other goods are sold than those listed above.
The association noted that this legislative initiative will require capital investments from businesses to equip separate sales outlets, which will lead to an increase in the price of legal products and an increase in the price gap between counterfeit and legal goods.
In this regard, the EBA appealed to parliamentarians with a request not to support such amendments and to reject bill No. 5805 during consideration.
“The number of official sales outlets may significantly decrease, or even disappear altogether, and thus encourage the consumption of counterfeit products. Questions are also raised about the timing of the proposed amendments. It is envisaged that the law will enter into force on the next day after its publication. Since it is physically impossible to create a place of trade in one day, this will stop the sale of alcohol and tobacco products in Ukraine for a long time,” the association said.
The EBA also notes that the proposed amendments may limit competition between business entities in the Ukrainian market. According to it, in most EU countries, there is no such experience of restricting trade in alcohol and tobacco products. In addition, there are no separate rules for regulating the sale of alcohol and tobacco products in public catering establishments.
“The bill does not take into account an assessment of financial and economic consequences of the introduction of such amendments for business and the state, for example, budget losses from a decrease in the number of licenses for retail trade in tobacco and alcohol products,” Svitlana Mykhailovska, the EBA Deputy Director for Advocacy, said.
According to her, the EBA shares the desire of the MP to minimize the impact of binge drinking and smoking on the nation’s health, but the proposed method is selective and inconsistent. In addition, the association did not see in the context of bill No. 5805 an analysis of law enforcement practice and statistical data, which would indicate the ineffectiveness and insufficiency of existing restrictions and bans on the sale of alcohol beverages and tobacco products.
