The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) announced the expansion of the Digital Stamps Scheme in accordance with the NBR Chief Executive Decision 3/2023.
This comes regarding the implementing phases of the Digital Stamp Scheme on some excise goods of tobacco products to include (electronically heated tobacco products (EHTP), jirak, chopped or pressed tobacco for pipes, chopped or pressed tobacco for dokha and chopped or pressed tobacco for cigarettes).
This aims to track excise goods from the manufacturing stage up to consumption through digital stamps, which will protect against the circulation of counterfeit and illegal goods.
The first phase of the Digital Stamps Scheme went into effect on cigarette products by March 11, 2022, allowing the registered importers and manufacturers to place digital stamp orders via an electronic system.
The same was applied to the second phase that was implemented on water pipe tobacco “molasses” on November 20, 2022. While the third phase will be effective as of May 14 for the other tobacco products specified above.
Registration for the Digital Stamps Scheme is required by the excise payers who manufacture and import the specified excise goods of tobacco products and their relevant supply chain organizations from production until the release of the products to the local market in Bahrain.
There are three implementation the on the specified excise goods of tobacco products.
The first will start with receiving Digital Stamp purchase orders as of May 14 from excise payers registered with the NBR through an electronic system while allowing the trade of some of the excise goods of tobacco products that do not contain digital stamps in the local markets.
The second starting September 17 includes the implementation of the scheme on all imported products through customs clearance, where all imported products that arrive in Bahrain must have a digital stamp.
The final implementation will involve local markets, where the possession, trade, sale, or supply of those specified products without a digital stamp in the local market will be prohibited.
In this phase, any product that does not have a digital stamp by December 24 will be returned through the relevant supply chain to be destroyed or moved for sale outside the territories of Bahrain.
Source: Bahrain News Agency