“The higher excise mainly hurt low-price products where its impact over shelf prices stood at 25-30%, while in the case of premium products the impact was lower, of around 10-15%,” said Florin Radulescu, president of Spirits Romania Association.
The association estimates the white market at around 45 million liters, while its value revolves around EUR200 million plus VAT.
The unfiscalized market is one of the biggest problems spirits market players are coping with.
The black market of spirits amounts to 140 million liters annually, namely 75% of the overall market.
One of the moves Spirits Romania proposed to curb evasion on the market was the bottling of spirits only in glass packaging.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)