(This comment came from one of the speakers at the first Tax Stamp Forum, providing an apt description of the rationale behind the event, and the issues it covers). 

The Tax Stamp Forum is the only event to focus on strategic and practical solutions  to combat the illicit trade in tobacco and alcohol - including but not limited to tax stamps.

Excise duty on tobacco and liquor is an important source of revenue for governments. This income is, however, under threat from the illicit trade in both– whether in the form of contraband and/or counterfeiting. Governments, which are losing billions each year in lost revenues, can protect themselves and this valuable source of revenue by deploying tax stamps as a vehicle for tax collection and proof of payment. And the same vehicle, in providing proof of authenticity, also protects the interests of manufacturers.

The objective of the Tax Stamp Forum is to bring these groups together - government excise and customs agencies, investigators and law enforcement, regulators, cigarette and liquor manufacturers and distributors, security printers, supply chain specialists and integtrators, suppliers of authentication and serialisation technologies -to hear about and discuss the latest developments in tax stamp systems and learn from one another about requirements, best practice and potential solutions. 

Topics coverered typically include the problems of illicit trade and its devastating impact; national and international initiatives to provide solutions combining technology, policing and effective enforcement; case studies demonstrating the successful implementation of tax stamp programs; and practical technology-based countermeasures to aid authentication, fiscal verification and supply chain security. 

Who Should Attend the Tax Stamp Forum?

• Revenue agencies and issuing authorities
• Customs and excise officials
• Law enforcement agencies
• Investigative services
• Tobacco and alcohol regulators
• Anti-counterfeiting and IP organisations
• Manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers of tobacco and alcohol products
• Tax stamp system and equipment manufacturers
• Security printers and integrators
• Labelling companies and packaging converters
• Suppliers of security substrates, authentication and serialisation technologies

The Tax Stamp Forum is produced by Reconnaissance International, publishers of Tax Stamps News .

-  1st Tax Stamp Forum - February 2009 - Budapest, Hungary

-  2nd Tax Stamp Forum - June 2010 - London, UK

-  3rd Tax Stamp Forum - September 2011 - Washington DC, USA