Illegal cigarette seizures jumped 9x in FY21, squeezing legal players like ITC
India's enforcement agencies seized nine times more contraband cigarettes in FY21 than the prior year, signalling a pandemic-era surge in illicit tobacco trade. The shadow market erodes volumes and pricing power for legal manufacturers like ITC, even as tax-paying retailers absorb the share loss.
What happened
retail-company · Seizures of illegal cigarettes in India during FY21 were nine times higher than the prior year, indicating a sharp pandemic-era expansion of
Key facts
- 9x increase FY21
Why this matters
The illicit trade surge strengthens the case for industry-wide advocacy on excise reform and opens partnership opportunities with track-and-trace tech vendors or enforcement-focused supply chain solutions.
Also reported by
- Moneycontrol — Same time
- Moneycontrol — Same time