RAS Calls For Freeze In Excise Budget 2026 To Tackle Tobacco Black Market – Checkout.ie

May 23, 2025

Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) has called for the Department of Finance to introduce a freeze on the Tobacco Products Tax, to help fight the spiralling black market in illicit tobacco.

The RAS pre-Budget submission, lodged ahead of Budget 2026, was hand-delivered on Thursday, to the Department of Finance, by retail representatives from Dublin and Limerick.

In addition to a freeze on the Tobacco Products Tax, the submission calls for the recruitment of 250 additional frontier staff members and the purchase of additional scanners to detect illegal tobacco and enforce duty-free travel allowances.

It also called for an increase in the fines and prison sentences handed down for court convictions of illegal smuggling.

RAS noted that the recent publication of the Revenue Commissioner’s Illegal Tobacco Product Research Surveys 2024 proves that the government is losing the battle against Ireland’s spiralling market in illicit tobacco.

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The survey found that 37% of cigarette packs in circulation had no Irish excise duty paid thereon, as they were either illegal or purchased outside of Ireland.

In the case of the roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco market, the proportion of products in circulation with no Irish duty paid was a staggering 49%.

Based on Revenue’s survey, RAS estimates that the retail value of Ireland’s untaxed market is now worth €790 million.

The Revenue Commissioner’s survey further concludes that the scale of illegal cigarette sales in 2024 resulted in €590 million in lost taxes to the Exchequer.

RAS estimates that a further €249 million was lost on the 11% travel purchases of cigarettes, and a further €95 million lost in taxes on RYO tobacco, resulting in €934 million in lost taxes in 2024.

‘Spiralling Out Of Control’

Dublin retailer and RAS national spokesperson Barry Gilsenan said, as he delivered the pre-Budget submission, “Ireland’s black market in tobacco is spiralling out of control – and it’s taking business away from legitimate Irish retailers.

“One of the main reasons Ireland’s untaxed cigarette market has grown so large is because continuous increases in excise are driving people to purchase the cigarettes from the black market or abroad.

“What’s worse, the latest Revenue figures don’t reflect the whopping €1 excise on cigarettes in last year’s Budget.

“We are calling on the government to take tough and decisive action in Budget 2026 to protect legitimate retailers from tobacco-smuggling and the out-of-control black market in tobacco.

“This needs to include a freeze in excise to tobacco, to try to halt the flight of consumers to the black market and to allow the government and Revenue Commissioners to get on top of the problem before it gets any worse.”