Five Cigarette Companies Among Armenia's Top 20 Taxpayers

Two of the largest cigarette producers in Armenia are Grand Tobacco and International Masis Tabac.

In the first quarter of this year Grand Tobacco paid 2.528 billion (US$ 5.261 million) in taxes, up from 1.733 billion AMD in the same period last year.

International Masis paid 1.374 billion AMD (US$2.859 million) in the first quarter of this year, up from 1.287 billion AMD last year.

Masis Tobacco, another cigarette producer owned by Grand Holding, paid 120.8 million AMD in taxes, 320 million less than last year.

Cigarette production in Armenia is taking off. According to the National Statistical Service, 2,891,000 cigarettes were produced in Armenia in the first quarter of 2015 – up 28.4% over the same period last year.

Since the above companies export 80% of their product, it’s safe to assume that their exports have also grown. But we still have no raw data from the customs service in Armenia.

Of the three companies, Grand Tobacco enjoys the lion share of the cigarette market - 50.8% of filter cigarette production and 92.3% of non-filtered varieties.

Cigarette imports have dropped. In 2014, Armenia imported US$44.6 million worth of cigarettes; down $16.8 million from 2013.

Overall, five companies in the cigarette business were ranked in the top 20 taxpayers in Armenia for the 1st quarter of 2015: Grand Tobacco (7th), JTI Armenia (11th), International Masis Tabac (13th), Avers (14th), and Philip Morris (15th). However, today many people prefer to buy cigarettes online at lowest prices in order to receive cigarettes right at their home.