Smuggling costs BAT K300m
By KANYANTA KATONGOBRITISH American Tobacco has lost K300 million in illicit inflows of sweet menthol cigarettes in Northern Province.
BAT managing director, Lovemore Manatsa said there was an illegal inflow of 110 cases monthly of the sweet menthol cigarettes in the province.
He said this translated into K300 million in the revenue losses to BAT, Government and other legitimate players in the market.
He disclosed this in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Manatsa said the illicit inflows also made it difficult for the legitimate players to gauge the true size of the cigarette market in Zambia.
He outlined the districts with an influx of smuggled cigarettes as Mpika, Kasama, Mbala, Mpulungu, Chinsali, Isoka and Nakonde.
He said smugglers were bringing the smuggled cigarettes mostly from the Tunduma border-town in Tanzania via Nakonde border post.
Mr Manatsa said this could only be solved when they work in hand with Zambia Revenue Authority.
He said the company was looking out when it assesses there is increased inflow of illicit cigarettes.
He said that if this continues BAT would not be able to make profits by the end of the year.
Mr Manatsa BAT had left the situation to be resolved by the ZRA at the border posts.
He urged ZRA to work hard and arrest those involved in smuggling of sweet menthol cigarettes.
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