TSTF 2023 brochure

2–4 OCTOBER 2023 Tbilisi, Georgia

The only global event to focus on strategic and practical solutions to protect government revenues and combat the illicit trade in tobacco, alcohol and other excise products. taxstamptraceabilityforum.com

“Very informative and useful conference. I received a lot of very useful and valuable information about tax stamps and traceability. Thank you!.”

Georgia Revenue Service

Welcome We are delighted to be holding the 2023 Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ in the beautiful city of Tbilisi, Georgia, in the company of our host, Georgia Revenue Service

Tbilisi has a complex history, reflected by a diverse architecture encompassing Eastern Orthodox churches, ornate art nouveau buildings and Soviet Modernist structures. So, plenty of sightseeing opportunities.

As far as the conference is concerned, we have some interesting topics lined up: We’ll kick things off with a workshop looking at what’s next for the ISO 22382 tax stamp standard, due for review. The workshop is hosted

by Ian Lancaster, the original project leader for ISO 22382. He will present a draft of proposed changes to the standard so that you can give your views and ideas on what should be changed, taken out of, or added to it.

Our plenary sessions will include the following topics and speakers: International Tax and Customs Transformation Consultant Telita Snyckers will describe key developments across tax and customs administrations relevant to the secure marking and traceability space.

Ghana Revenue Authority will use an exploratory data analysis approach to weigh the benefits from the country’s tax stamp programme.

Panama’s General Directorate of Revenue will describe how Panama, with its key strategic location in Latin America, is tackling illicit trade.

The Canadian Bank Note Company will talk about the journey to the legalisation of recreational cannabis in Canada – a story that the rest of the world can use to plot its course.

OpSec Security will describe the challenges faced with planning, developing, and implementing a complete authentication and traceability solution for cigarettes in Lebanon.

Francisco Mandiola of FMA Secure will lead a panel discussion with revenue and customs authorities on the critical subject of what devices and features are used by inspectors to identify and authenticate tax stamps and products.

As part of this year’s programme, revenue authority delegates will have the opportunity to observe direct beverage marking in action, during a tour of the Zedazeni brewery in Tbilisi, with the Georgia Revenue Service in attendance.

I look forward to seeing you soon in Georgia!

Nicola Sudan, Conference Director

Who Should Attend Governments

Tax Stamp Providers

Revenue agencies and issuing authorities

Tax stamp system and equipment manufacturers

Customs and excise officials

Security printers and integrators

Regulators/Enforcement

Suppliers

Law enforcement agencies

Labelling companies and packaging converters

Investigative services

Suppliers of security substrates, authentication and serialisation technologies

Tobacco and alcohol regulators

Other

Industries

Anti-counterfeiting and IP organisations

Manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers of tobacco, alcohol and other excise products

Academics

Who Attended in 2022 192 delegates from 103 organisations and 37 countries attended the Tax Stamp Forum in Malta.

Latin America North America Tax Stamp Producers/Printers 2%

18%

4%

Customs and Revenue Agencies

Africa 35%

37%

Europe

42%

31% 4%

Suppliers 10% Other

2%

Manufacturers/ distributors

15% Asia/Pacific

CIS

10 Reasons to Attend 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Discover new ways to protect excise revenue and stop counterfeit and diverted goods See which methods can make protecting excise revenues more effective

116 organisations

Meet 200 professionals to share best practice from around the world Better understand the drivers behind global trends in illicit trade Listen to the challenges faced by tax authorities and learn from practical examples Hear about the latest track-and-trace and verification methods Talk with specialist suppliers and compare authentication technologies Enhance your practical knowledge with our professional development workshops

Make new contacts from right across the industry 10 Ask experts for advice in lively panel discussions

41 countries

175 delegates

3 October 2023

Session 1: Welcome and Overview Welcome and Forum Overview Nicola Sudan, Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ (UK)

Welcome Address TBC, Revenue Service (Georgia)

The Tax Stamp and Traceability System in Georgia Teona Shiukashvili, Revenue Service (Georgia)

The Global Tax Stamp and Traceability Landscape Gerben van Wijk, International Tax Stamp Association (UK)

An Environmental Scan: Current Developments Impacting Tax and Customs Administrations, and How to Leverage Them to your Advantage Telita Snyckers, International Tax and Customs Transformation Consultant

Session 2: Country Cases part I / Why Some Tax Stamp Programmes Fail Impact of Tax Stamps on Ghana’s Excise Tax Revenue Michael Gyasi, Ghana Revenue Authority

Protection from the Storm: Implementing Lebanon’s Authentication and Traceability Solution TBC, OpSec (UK)

How Panama is Addressing Illicit Trade Milagro Mendoza, General Directorate of Revenue (Panama)

Successful Tax Stamp Programmes are Easy, So Why do So Many Fail?

Tim Driscoll, Authentix (USA)

Session 3: Panel Discussion How do Inspectors Really Authenticate Tax Stamps?

Chair Francisco Mandiola, FMA Secure (Chile)

Session 4: Direct Marking / Serialisation Beverage Tax Stamps with Secure Direct Marking: Benefits Across a Dozen Countries Ruggero Milanese, SICPA (Switzerland)

Traceability Technology for Successful Tax Stamp Programs Dr Foued Barouni, OPTEL Group (Canada)

The Power of Digital Security Printing: Using Design/Personalisation Combinations to Solve Authentication Challenges Tadej Turk, JURA (Hungary)

Harmonized Serialization and Authentication for Tax Collection and Brand Protection Gidi Amir, HP Indigo Secure (Israel)

Recreational Cannabis Legalisation: The Canadian Experience Tim McIntyre, Canadian Bank Note Company (Canada)

Supply Chain Traceability for Punjab Excise Asir Ratan Singh, Madras Security Printers (India)

Insights and learnings from Digital Tax Stamp solutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council Andrew Gilbert, De La Rue (UK)

Encounters with Counterfeits of Digital Security Features Sergej Toedtli, Thymaris (Switzerland)

Session 6: Innovations Optical Q-ID® – Unbreakable Quantum Signatures Verified by Standard Smartphone Prof Robert Young, Quantum Base (UK)

Introducing Diffractive Tax Stamp Paper Thomas Brücklmeier, LEONHARD KURZ (Germany)

So Many Features, So Little Space – A Novel Look at Multifunctional Security Features TBC, Luminescence Sun Chemical Security (UK)

Who Cares About the Brakes on a Ferrari? Why Prioritizing Quality Control in Your Production Line will Help You Down the Line

4 October 2023

Session 5: Country Cases part II

Erwin Wagner, Baldwin Vision Systems (USA)

Session 7: Digital and Physical Security How to Protect Citizens While Scanning 2D Barcodes Zbigniew Sagan & Vincent Leyris, Advanced Track & Trace (France)

Nano-Optical Elements for Physical Security of Tax Stamps Valentin Monovski, Demax Holograms (Bulgaria)

The Future of the International Standard for Tax Stamps Ian Lancaster, Lancaster Consulting and Reconnaissance International (UK)

The Role of Smartphones in the Authentication Space – A New Report Astrid Mitchell, Reconnaissance Intl (UK)

ment Govern es delegatfor attend This programme is provisional and subject to modification.

The latest version can be found at taxstamptraceabilityforum.com

FREE

Madras Security Printers Specialise in e-governance solutions, Track and Trace Solutions, Smart City ICT implementation, Smart card based solutions, Identity management and Biometric solutions, Datacenter & IT/ITeS solutions and High Security printing. We cater to the needs of various Authorities, Government Ministries, Revenue Authorities, Immigration Departments, Banks, Electoral Commissions, Postal Departments and Corporate Offices across the globe.

Gold

Platinum

Our Sponsors

Silver

HP Indigo Secure

Specialist Supplier Exhibitions

Learn about our exhibitors at www.taxstampforum.com

Workshop

Social Events

What’s Next for the International Tax Stamp Standard?

Venue

2 October | 09:00 – 10:30

Come to this workshop to have your say on the next version of the international tax stamp standard.

Admission is free for revenue authorities, other government agencies, and ITSA members. All other attendees are subject to a fee of €350.

In 2018 the International Standards Organisation (ISO) published ISO 22382, ‘Guidelines for the content, security, issuance and examination of excise tax stamps’. This standard is primarily intended as guidance for tax stamp issuers – including specifiers and designers – but it has proven useful to suppliers in facilitating their discussions with customers. Some revenue agencies have already referred to ISO 22382 in their requests for proposals.

It is ISO procedure to review a standard every five years, so this standard is now due for review.

Implementing the FCTC Protocol

The venue for the 2023 Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ is the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace is located in the heart of Tbilisi, at the edge of the beautiful Old Town, inviting you to take part in this city of stories.

Welcome Cocktail Reception – sponsored

by Georgia Revenue Service On Sunday 1st October a welcome reception will be held on the roof top terrace of the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace.

Further details and timings will follow.

Exhibition Opening, Welcome Cocktail – sponsored by Madras On Monday 2nd October we host the event opening reception and exhibition where delegates will be able to see the latest technological solutions – including serialised tax stamps, fiscal verification systems, optical variable devices, security inks, smartphone authentication, supply chain security and track and trace systems.

Gala Dinner at Château Mukhrani – sponsored by De La Rue

2 October | 11:00 – 12:00

Guidelines for revenue authorities running tax stamp programmes International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) Admission reserved for revenue authorities, other government agencies, and ITSA members only. No other delegates will have access to this session.

Join ITSA for a discussion on how existing tax stamp programmes can technically comply with, and participate in, the global tobacco track and trace regime and informationsharing focal point (GSP) required under the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

ITSA will present a real-case example of two countries with tax stamp programmes already in place, to demonstrate how they can use their programmes to exchange track and trace data in line with Protocol requirements.

67 countries are currently party to the Protocol which obliges them to implement secure track and trace systems on tobacco products. An additional 168 countries have signed the broader FCTC convention, requiring them to consider, as appropriate, developing a practical track and trace regime.

On Tuesday 3rd October the gala dinner takes place in the beautiful Chateau Mukhrani which was founded on the tradition of winemaking in the Mukhrani area of Georgia. It is the original Georgian Royal Chateau, and the only Chateau to unite four key components: the Vineyard, the Winery, the Chateau and the Winemaking history.

Tour

Zedazeni Brewery – 2 October | Afternoon

Therefore, most countries in the world are concerned by this game-changing treaty.

REGISTER ONLINE

taxstamptraceabilityforum.com

We are very privileged to offer government delegates the chance to visit the Zedazeni brewery in Tbilisi on the afternoon of Monday 2nd October 2023. The visit will give government attendees the opportunity to see a direct marking project in operation. The Georgia Revenue Service will be in attendance and provide an overview of the overall fiscal marking programme as an introduction to the visit.

The tour is restricted to government authorities and numbers are strictly limited, so please register your interest as early as possible by contacting Alison Bell (alison@recon-intl.com).

The tour delegates are subject to review.

“Excellent tax stamp topics and speakers and well moderated.”

De La Rue

Useful Information Registration

Here to Help

To be part of Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ 2023, go to taxstamptraceabilityforum.com to book online.

If you have any questions about the conference, contact the conference team:

Fees

Nicola Sudan, Conference Director Weronika Komorowska, Conference Manager

€2,500 Standard delegate

Pre-Conference Workshop Fee €350 Government: Free of charge

Discounts and Concessions Government representatives: Free of charge The first two representatives from government revenue, customs and enforcement agencies can attend for free; additional delegates from the same organisation:

€1,250 State enterprise subsidiaries: €1,700 Tax Stamp & Traceability News subscribers: €2,250 International Tax Stamp Association members: €2,000 Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ is the monthly newsletter for specifiers, users and suppliers of tax stamp programmes.

Subscribers qualify for a 10% discount when registering for the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum. To become a subscriber, visit taxstamptraceabilitynews.com Fees do not include travel, visas, accommodation or accompanying spouse or social partner fees for the cocktails/dinner.

Travel and Accommodation Delegates are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodation. Details of special booking rates and how to make your hotel reservation can be found at taxstamptraceabilityforum.com under the venue page.

RECONNAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL Tel: +44 (0)1932 785 680 Email: events@recon-intl.com www.reconnaissance.net

Tel: +44 (0)1932 785 680 Fax: +44 (0)1932 780 790 Email: events@recon-intl.com

Other Information Conference Language: The conference will be conducted in English.

Your Conference Organiser: The event is organised

by Reconnaissance International, the leading source of business intelligence for authentication, security printing and holography. Visit reconnaissance.net Release: The organisers accept no liability for personal injury or any loss of or damage to delegates’ personal effects. We reserve the right to cancel, modify or postpone the event without prior notice and to refuse admission to any person (with payments refunded).

Terms and Conditions: Visit reconnaissance.net/terms for full terms and conditions.