Cigarettes and alcohol banned at stalls
Every year the Czech government looses approximately 3 billion crowns through the sale of unlicensed cigarettes and alcohol. Most of it is sold at outdoor stalls, predominantly by Vietnamese market traders. Despite the fact that the cartons of cigarettes are obviously counterfeit, and there have even been cases of buyers coming home to find their cartons stuffed with cotton wool and nails -the lower price of smuggled cigarettes continues to ensure steady sales. Inspections and police raids have proved ineffective in the long run -since no matter how many goods are confiscated, within hours the salesmen are back with more of the same. The Czech government has now moved to stop this practice.
A new consumer tax law which is to come into effect at the beginning of next year will ban the sale of cigarettes and alcohol at outdoor stalls. Big tobacco companies are cheering, expecting this move to raise their own sales. But will it work? Many experts in the field are sceptical. The fine for breaking this law is 150 thousand crowns, a sum likely to be much lower than the profit from selling unlicensed cigarettes and alcohol. Secondly the law stipulates that these goods may not be sold at outdoor stalls which are defined as "constructions which do not have a solid foundation". Aware of this amendment to the law, many stall-owners have invested in solid foundations. Others may overcome the legal hurdle by taking on an extra sales article - newspaper stands may sell cigarettes and alcohol. Also, the network of these salesmen is said to have links to proper shops and chain-stores - so it will take plenty of inspectors to enforce the law and prevent smugglers from simply adopting a new set of rules and working on a different ground. Time will show how well the government has prepared for this.
