The Dutch government collected 3 billion euros less in excise duties and value-added tax on tobacco and other smoking products than it would have if all such goods had been bought in the Netherlands. The figure comes from the tobacco industry association Vereniging Nederlandse Sigaretten- en Kerftabakfabrikanten (VSK). The shortfall is driven by Dutch consumers buying abroad or through illegal channels because prices in the Netherlands are high.

In 2021, the comparable shortfall stood at 1.4 billion euros. The amount of tax revenue the VSK says the government has forgone has more than doubled in five years. The association argues that the societal harm is greater still because a criminal market has developed as a result.

Between July 23 and Aug. 7, the Combiteam SMOKE unit seized more than 20.7 million illegal cigarettes. The seizures took place at several locations across the Netherlands. Had those products reached the Dutch market, the state would have missed about 9 million euros in excise revenue, the VSK said.

The largest single haul was 12 million cigarettes in Rotterdam. Authorities also recovered 2.7 million cigarettes in delivery vans in Ridderkerk. Additional seizures occurred in Delft, Hazeldonk, and Winschoten.

The findings are based on multiple long-running market studies. A separate calculation using public data from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and customs authorities also points to more than 3 billion euros, VSK added.

The Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) reached a similar conclusion. It calculated that the Dutch state would have lost more than 9 million euros in excise duties if all the intercepted cigarettes had entered the domestic market.