"The phenomenon threatens the country's economy" and it’s "one of the signs of its degradation"
Khalil from the Regie: More than 124 smuggling passages in Lebanon
Some are fostered and we cannot take real steps to control them
Seklaoui: Any raise in tobacco prices under the open smuggling passages would be a gift to smugglers
The current smuggling market in tobacco sector ranges between 30% and 35%, an estimated 250 thousand annual smuggled boxes
Tobacco industry losses from smuggling around $ 300 million
The Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil said on Wednesday that there are "more than 124 smuggling passages in Lebanon," adding that the phenomenon of smuggling "threatens the country's economy and contributes to the deficit of public treasury and the decrease of imports," describing it as "one of the leading signs of the government’s degradation", complaining of the inability to take" real steps in seizing it". "We won’t be living in a real State while we tolerate and perhaps foster such violations," he said.
During the meeting that wa