From: Khaleej Post
BEIRUT: The Lebanese treasury can boost revenues by up to $200 million if authorities succeeded in a campaign to crack down on tobacco smuggling, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil said Thursday.
“The amount of money which is being squandered and wasted as result of tobacco smuggling ranges between $150 million to $200 million a year,” Khalil said after touring the facilities of state-run tobacco company Regie.
“This should prompt the state to exert more effort to secure additional revenues to the Lebanese treasury,” he said.
He praised the efforts of Regie in fighting tobacco smuggling, but added that the government and all of its institutions must also take serious measures in this direction.
