- 15
- Mar
- 2024
Stamp Black Market Thriving More than Ever
modified on 11 Apr. 2024 à 15:55 Read : 2 minute(s) A A A
The stamp black market thrives openly, with prices soaring to somehow astronomical heights, even within ministries, occasionally.
The crux lies in the necessity of affixing the fiscal stamp to almost all accounting formalities, under applicable laws.
In the “digital age,” the ordinary taxpayer rightfully wonders why the Ministry of Finance, the authority responsible for issuing fiscal stamps, has not yet crossed the digital Rubicon. The electronic fiscal stamp was included into the 2020 and 2024 general budgets, yet no dedicated funds were allocated for its implementation.
On top of that, debates within the parliamentary committee for Defense, Interior, and Municipalities, held on Wednesday, March 13 and chaired by MP Jihad al-Samad, have culminated in a pivotal decision. The committee has tasked the directors-general of service ministries with conducting an in-depth “study” on the ins and outs of the stamp crisis and proposing solutions.
The Crisis Drags On
There's only one interpretation for such a decision: An end to the fiscal stamp crisis is not imminent. In fact, one wouldn’t be entirely off base to suspect a wicked complicity between the political establishment and bigwigs within public administrations, all aimed at offering them a significant assistance to make ends meet by month’s end.
Prosecutions Possible
Furthermore, the mechanisms for prosecuting wrongdoers are at hand. Each fiscal stamp is marked with a serial number recorded in the Ministry of Finance’s Treasury Department registry. Consequently, identifying the authorized entity selling stamps at prices exceeding their nominal value is easy.
LBP 10,000 Instead of LBP 100,000
As widely known, a stamp valued at LBP 10,000 is sold on the black market for LBP 100,000, whereas one worth LBP 20,000 fetches LBP 200,000.
In this context, we recall that Tripoli's MP, Achraf Rifi, has submitted a briefing note to the competent judicial authorities concerning a collection of fiscal stamps valued at LBP 65,000, sold at a staggering price of LBP 23,000,000.
No further action has been taken on his initiative to date.
The Constitutional Council
In this context, it is important to highlight that the Constitutional Council suspended the articles of the 2024 budget pertaining to the increase in nominal stamp prices, following a series of invalidation actions brought forth by several MPs.
This means that, on the official level, the prices of fiscal stamps remain unchanged from those set in 2023. However, this is not the case on the black market.
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