A clerk at an e-cigarette store in Seoul introduces products on Oct. 23, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s customs agency announced a plan to strengthen the crackdown on individuals evading taxes on imports of liquid-type e-cigarettes made of tobacco leaves by falsely reporting that they are made of synthetic nicotine.
The Korea Customs Service said Thursday it had developed a high-precision analysis method to identify whether the nicotine contained in liquid-type e-cigarettes is natural nicotine extracted from tobacco leaves or synthetic nicotine.
This method uses a sample preparation technology called derivatization to increase the detection sensitivity of a specific ingredient contained in tobacco leaves by a factor of 30.
Liquid-type e-cigarettes made of natural nicotine are classified as cigarettes under tax laws, and are therefore being levied an inland duty of 1,799 won (US$1.32) per 1 milliliter.
In contrast, synthetic nicotine-based e-cigarettes that are made of chemical materials are classified not as cigarettes but as manufactured goods, and are therefore exempt from cigarette consumption taxes.
Accordingly, there are some cases where general liquid-type e-cigarettes are falsely reported as synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes to avoid taxes.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
