During the final session of day one, Branquinho discussed the impact of illicit trade and counterfeiting on our duty and tax free industry, and the reputational harm caused by criminal activity.

“Illicit trade, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft are global challenges requiring a global commitment. Too often, fake goods sold in the domestic market are fraudulently labelled as “duty free” in order to mask their illicit origins. Our industry suffers from economic harm through lost sales opportunities, and reputational damage from having our name co-opted by this criminal activity.

“The duty free and travel retail industry takes a zero tolerance approach to any form of criminality, and wants to work hand in hand with customs and enforcement agencies to stamp out criminal activity wherever it occurs.”

Held at The Art Hotel & Resort in Bahrain from 27-29 November, the MEADFA Conference featured prominent industry leaders and thought-provoking debates and discussions, with an emphasis on Africa.

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Duty Free World Council President Sarah Branquinho represented the Duty Free Trusted Transparent Secure campaign at The Economist Global Anti-Illicit Trade Summit in Warsaw, Poland. Branquinho discussed the impact of illicit trade and counterfeiting on our duty- and tax-free industry, and the reputational harm criminal activity causes.

Speaking at the “2030 and beyond” roundtable alongside other industry leaders, she said:

“Our industry has been part of successful partnerships with different, enlightened enforcement agencies, [focused on] cracking the problem. They’ve shown us packets that say ‘duty-free tobacco’, and we’ve been able to show that its not anything from the duty-free market.

“We’re able to shut one door for them, so they’re able to move onto the next thing.“

The duty- and tax-free industry has one of the most transparent and secure supply chains in the world. The Duty Free Trusted Transparent Secure campaign is focused on engaging with organisations around the world to marshal a collective pressure to stamp out these criminal activities everywhere they occur.

You can access the Duty Free Trusted Transparent Secure campaign’s position paper here >>>

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Too often, the duty free and travel retail industries are wrongly perceived as ‘free zones’, exempt from normal rules and regulations. This is not the case. All duty free and travel retail sales take place in highly regulated retail environments that are governed by strict customs allowances, such as airports, ports, ferries, cruise ships and land border shops. Duty free and travel retail stores at these locations are within security controlled areas, free from passing or casual customers. As a result of this, sales of duty free and travel retail products are subject to security protocols, including the requirement for customers to show proof of international travel and restrictions on allowances, to name just two. In order to deliver such secure conditions, members of the duty free and travel retail industry willingly engage with governments and regulators to deliver on all legal requirements. With this approach, to the industry can deliver a fully robust supply chain which instils both industry and public confidence. 

As is unfortunately the case in every industry, there are unscrupulous actors who seek to co-opt the authenticity of our products. This often occurs when counterfeit items are labelled or stamped with markings designed to resemble those placed on genuine duty free goods. Our industry has zero tolerance for this kind of fraudulent activity. We strongly encourage all our customers to purchase duty free products only from trusted retailers operating in secure travel environments. Any goods purchased in other locations (including the domestic market) purporting to be duty free goods are not, in fact, genuine products. Our industry will continue to work closely with enforcement agencies to stamp out any illegality where it occurs. Meantime, customers can rest assured that all products purchases from a secure environment duty free store are authentic, and genuine.

The duty free and travel industry is already fully complaint with all the important and wide ranging controls that protect the channel against issues including illicit trade. To further this, we have developed our own technologies and processes to ensure verification of registration, compliance, certification, review and audit. In the unlikely event that industry participants are found to have discrepancies in their stock and control procedures, they are subject to financial penalties from customs authorities.

The duty free and travel retail industry has one of the most demonstrably secure, dependable and legitimate supply chains in the world. However, its transparency can only be protected if governments, regulators and customers continue to trust in our industry. A lack of trust puts the long-term future of the channel under threat, in addition to all the customers, passengers, businesses, travel hubs, jobs and livelihoods that have come to depend on duty free sales. 

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