The meeting that held yesterday in Yaounde was part of preparations for the stamping of quality assurance stickers on all tobacco products.

Tobacco importers have been told to furnish the Directorate of Taxes in the Ministry of Finance, MINFI, with all information regarding their activities. This information includes the names of their manufacturers or suppliers, the quantity of their current and planned stocks and their distribution circuits in the country. Moreso, they are have been urged to give samples of their tobacco products to the National Agency for Norms and Quality, ANOR, and the Ministry of Public Health in order to be granted certification.

The call was made by the Minister of Finance, Lazare Essimi Menye, while presiding at a meeting with tobacco importers yesterday October 19 in Yaounde. "This has to be done before October 30 as a prerequisite to implementing the new measure obliging the stamping of quality assurance stickers on each cigarette packet as from January 1, 2012," he said. While assuring the businessmen that the transactional value will henceforth be applied to imported cigarettes at the customs level, he disclosed that strict control measures will be taken to rid the markets of contraband cigarettes, cleanse the sector of fraud and increase revenue collection. The Minister also announced that after posting quality assurance stickers on tobacco and liquours, the sticker measure will also target medical and pharmaceutical products.