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Rabat – This Thursday, the Moroccan Executive is expected to review a draft bill concerning the manufacturing and sale of raw and manufactured tobacco during the Government Council held in Rabat.
Bad news for smokers. This new draft law provides for the increase in cigarettes and cigars prices, following the rise in VAT imposed by the government in accordance with the provisions of the 2018 Finance Act.
The first increase which affected tobacco prices last July and the that of January 1 will be followed by a third, starting January 1, 2019. These increases of one to two dirhams include the brands Casa, Basic, Kasbah, Blue Olympic and Maghreb.
On the other hand, the state and Moroccan tobacco companies want to fight the black market and present “quality” cigarettes, according to the text of the bill.
However, these increases could push smokers with limited resources to look for another alternative to their addiction, especially since retail cigarette vendors dominate the market to a large extent.
These price increases might encourage smokers to move to smuggled cigarettes, which will affect Moroccan tobacco companies.
Morocco counts over 300,000 retail cigarette sellers in different cities and regions of the country.
