14th Jul 2005 12:55
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC14 July 2005 ADVOCATE GENERAL JACOBS OPINION Advocate General Jacobs of the European Court of Justice today published hisopinion on the future taxation of West Singles and stated that they "must beclassified as cigarettes under Article 4(1)(b) of Directive 95/59 and must bearthe minimum rate of duty laid down in Article 2(1) of Directive 92/79". Gareth Davis, Chief Executive of Imperial Tobacco Group, said: "We are disappointed with the opinion but await the final European Court ofJustice ruling, which is expected later this year. "We believe that taxing Singles at the same rate as cigarettes is likely toencourage even more cross-border trade and deprive the German government of evenmore tax revenue. "However, many German consumers are also likely to move to roll your own tobaccoproducts or other make your own tobacco products. Additionally, they may alsomove to low price cigarettes. "The strength of our broad product portfolio leaves us well placed to capitaliseon this consumer migration." The European Court of Justice ruling will only determine the future taxation ofSingles. It will not affect the taxation of any other tobacco category. If the ruling concurs with the Advocate General's opinion, the EU Commission andthe German government will negotiate the implementation of the ruling.ENDS NOTES TO EDITORSThe EU Commission referred the German government to the European Court ofJustice in late 2003 over the taxation of West Singles, which are currentlytaxed as fine cut tobacco. At that time, West Singles was the major Singlesproduct available in the German market. The Commission is seeking to haveSingles taxed at the same rate as cigarettes. The case was heard in May 2005. Singles (also known as modern make your own tobacco products) refers topre-rolled cartridges of tobacco, which are not able to be smoked whenpurchased. The cartridges are inserted into cigarette paper tubes with filters,using a special device resembling a pen. The tobacco cartridges and the papertubes with filters are sold separately. ENQUIRIESAlex Parsons Group Media Relations Manager +44 (0)7967 467 241John Nelson-Smith Investor Relations Manager +44 (0)117 933 7032 Copies of our announcements are available on our website:www.imperial-tobacco.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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