Germany accidentally hikes cigarette prices by €4 a packet overnight
A clerical error in Germany led to the premature publication of a law that hiked cigarette prices by €4 overnight. The government is now working to clarify the legal status of tobacco sales until the intended January 1st implementation date.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the risks of administrative errors in legislative processes and the resulting economic uncertainty for affected industries.
Cigarettes in Germany almost slipped from guilty pleasure to illegal contraband on Wednesday after a clerical error brought forward a duty hike planned for January 1st.
Last Friday, the Bundestag parliament approved a Bill containing higher duty on tobacco that would increase the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by about €4 to €12-€14.
Now the federal finance ministry has admitted the new law was published “in error” on Tuesday in the federal gazette.
The publication of any law in that publication activates it the following day: Wednesday, in this case.
“A technical error occurred in the documents regarding the effective date,” acknowledged the ministry in a statement.
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