Estimating illicit cigarette consumption using a tax-gap approach, India.

Objective: To estimate the magnitude of illicit cigarette consumption in India using a tax-gap approach.

Methods: In the tax-gap analysis, illicit cigarette consumption in India was defined as the difference between total and legal consumption. Data on total cigarette consumption came from two national Global Adult Tobacco Surveys carried out from 2009 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2017. Legal consumption was derived from Government of India data on domestic cigarette production and trade.

Findings: Estimated total cigarette consumption was 104.8 billion sticks in 2009 to 2010 and 94.2 billion sticks in 2016 to 2017, a decrease of 10.6 billion sticks, or of 10%, over the time period. Legal cigarette consumption fell from 99.4 to 88.5 billion sticks over the same period, a drop of 11%. Estimated illicit cigarette consumption was, therefore, 5.4 billion sticks in 2009 to 2010 and 5.6 billion sticks in 2016 to 2017, and accounted for 5.1% and 6.0% of the market in these periods, respectively. Consequently, only about 1 in 20 cigarettes consumed in India was illicit. Between 2016 and 2017, the estimated equivalent retail sales value of illicit cigarettes was 49 billion Indian rupees (753 million United States dollars, US$) and the estimated tax revenue foregone was 25 billion Indian rupees (US$ 390 million).

Conclusion: Illicit cigarette consumption is relatively modest in India by global standards. Nonetheless, India should strengthen its capacity to control the illicit tobacco market as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, while also continuing to implement traditional demand reduction measures, such as tobacco taxation.