EN    EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2017) XXX  draft  
  
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
on technical standards for security features applied to tobacco products  
(Text with EEA relevance)   
EN 2   EN COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
on technical standards for security features applied to tobacco products  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 
April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the 
Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related 
products  and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC 1, and in particular Article 16 (2) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Directive 2014/40/EU provides that all unit packets of tobacco products   placed on the 
market  are to carry a tamper proof security feature, composed of visible and invisible 
elements, for the purpose of facilitating the verification of whether or not tobacco 
products are authe ntic. Technical standards for a system of security features should be 
laid down.  
(2) The security features along with  the system for ensuring the traceability of tobacco 
products, provided for in Article 15 of Directive 2014/40/EU and established in 
Commission Implementing Regulation XXX , should allow for monitoring and more 
effective enforcement of the compliance of tobacco products with Directive 
2014/40/EU.  
(3) Common rules on security feature standards in the Union are essential as divergent 
and insufficiently precise national requirements are likely to undermine efforts to 
improve compliance of tobacco products with Union tobacco products regulation . A 
more harmonised framework for security features across Member States should also 
facilitate the functioning of the internal market of legal tobacco products.  
(4) The technical standards  for security features should give due regard to the high degree 
of in novation that exists in this area. Lists of permitted  types of  authentication 
elements with common minimum requirements, based on which manufacture rs and 
importers of tobacco products are to develop  security features, should be established . 
The inclusion o f a variety of different types of authentication elements that may be 
supplemented by Member States should  ensure  the necessary balance between 
flexibility and a high level of security. This should also enable  Member States to take 
                                                 
 
1 OJ L 127, 29.4.2014, p. 1.   
EN 3   EN into account new innovat ive solutions, capable of further bolstering the effectiveness 
of security features . 
(5) The combination of different authentication elements should be required as an 
important step in guaranteeing that the integrity of the final security feature applied to 
a tobacco product is well protected.  
(6) In order  to further protect the integrity of security features, it should be required that at 
least one authentication element in a security feature is provided by an independent 
third party solution provider .  
(7) Several Me mber States require tax stamps or national identification marks for fiscal 
purposes. Th ose Member States should be free to allow that their stamps or marks are 
used as the security feature subject to the requirements of Art icle 16 of Directive 
2014/40/EU  and of this Decision . In order to alleviate any unnecessary economic 
burden, Member States whose tax stamps or national identification marks used as a 
security feature do not comply with all the requirements of Art icle 16 of Directive 
2014/40/EU and of this Decision should  ensure that manufacturers and importers of 
tobacco products are informed of the additional authentication elements necessary to 
render the final security feature compliant  with those requirements . 
(8) In order to ensure the integrity of securi ty features, they should be applied either by 
affixing, printing or a combination of both , in a manner that ensures they cannot be  
replaced, reused or modified in any way.  In addition, security features should  allow for 
the identification and verification of  the authenticity of an individual  unit pack et of 
tobacco product  for the entire time the tobacco  product is placed  on the market.  
(9) In order to allow for the verification of the au thenticity of a tobacco prod uct and 
thereby stepping up the fight against illicit trade of tobacco products in the Union , 
Member States and the Commission should, upon request, be provided with  sample 
products that may be used as a reference  for the purposes of laboratory analysis . 
Additionally , in order to  enable  competent authorities of one Member State to verify 
the authenticity of a tobacco product destined for the national market of another 
Member State, Member States should assist each other in sharing the reference 
products obt ained . 
(10) The measures provided for in this Decision  are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee referred to in Article 25 of Directive 2014/40/EU , 
 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter  
This Decision lays down technical standards for s ecurity features applied to unit packets of 
tobacco products placed on the Union market .  
EN 4   EN Article 2  
Definitions  
For the purposes of this Decision, in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 2 of 
Directive 2014/40/EU, the following definitions shall  apply:  
(a) 'authentication element' means an element of a security feature;   
(b) 'overt' means directly perceptible by one or more  of the human senses without 
recours e to external devices;  
(c) 'semi -covert ' means not directly perceptible by the human senses but dete ctable 
by those senses through the use of external devices , such as a UV torch or a 
special pen or marker , which do not require  expert knowledge or specialist 
training;  
(d) 'covert ' means not directly perceptible by the human senses and detectable only 
through the use of professional laboratory equipment.  
 
Article  3 
Security feature  
1. Member States shall ensure that security features are composed of no less than five 
types of authentic ation elements, of which at least:  
(a) one is overt;  
(b) one is semi -covert;  
(c) one is covert.  
2. Member States shall ensure that at least one of the authentication element s, referred 
to in paragraph 1, is provided by an independent third -party provider meet ing the 
requirements laid down in  Article 8 . 
3. Each Member State shall communicate to manufacturers and importers the types of 
authentication elements that it permits to be used in security features applied to unit 
packets of tobacco products placed on its national m arket.  
4. The types of authentication elements communicated in accordance with paragraph 3 
shall include at least t he twelve  types of authentication elements set out in the Annex.  
Article 4  
Use of tax stamps as security feature  
1. Member States allowing tax stamps or national identification marks for fiscal 
purposes to be used for security features shall ensure that those stamps or marks 
comply with the requirements of Article 3 of this Decision  and Article 16 of 
Directive 2014/40/E U.  
2. Where a tax stamp or national identification mark for fiscal purposes does not 
comply  with all the requirements  referred to in paragraph 1 , Member States  shall 
ensure that manufacturers and importers of tobacco products are informed of the 
additional  types of  authentication elements to be applied.    
EN 5   EN Article 5  
Appl ication  of security features  
1. Member States shall ensure that security features are applied to unit packets of 
tobacco products using one of the following methods:  
(a) affixing;  
(b) printing;  
(c) combinat ion of affixing and printing.  
2. Security features shall be applied to unit packets of tobacco products in a manner that  
ensures that they:  
(a) allow for the identification and verification of  the authenticity of an 
individual  unit pack of tobacco product  for the  entire time the tobacco 
product is placed on the market ; and  
(b) cannot  be replaced, reused or modified in any way.  
 
Article 6  
Integrity of security features  
1. Member States may decide, at any moment, to implement or withdraw schemes for 
the rotation of security features.  
2. If a Member State has  reasons to believe that the integrity of any authentication 
element  of a security feature currently in use on their market is compromised, they 
shall ensure that the security feature concerned is replaced or modifie d. If a Member 
State detects a compromised security feature, it shall inform the manufacturers and 
importers and security feature providers concerned within five working  days thereof.  
3. Member States may lay down formal guidelines or requirements on the secu rity of 
production and distribution procedures, such as those relating to the use of secure 
equipment and other components, audits, monitoring tools for production quantities, 
and secure shipping, in order to avert, deter, identify and mitigate the unlawfu l 
production, distribution or theft of security features and the authentication elements 
of which they are composed.  
Article 7  
Verification of authenticity of tobacco products  
1. Member States shall ensure that they possess the means necessary to analyse the 
security feature for the purposes of determining whether or not a unit packet of  a 
tobacco product is authentic.  
2. Member States shall require manufacturers and importers of tobacco products 
located on their territory to provide, upon written request, sampl es of tobacco 
products currently placed on the market. The sample products shall be provided in 
unit pack format and include the applied security feature.  Member States shall , upon 
request,  make available to the Commission t he samples of tobacco products  received.   
EN 6   EN 3. Member States shall , upon request,  assist each other in the  verif ication of the 
authenticity of a tobacco product destined for the national market of another Member 
State , including by sharing any samples obtained pursuant to paragraph 2.  
Article 8 
Independence of authentication element providers  
A provider of authentication elements shall be considered independent, if it meets the 
following criteria:  
(a) independence from the tobacco industry in terms of legal form, organisation 
and decision making , in particular absence of any direct or indirect control by 
the tobacco industry, including by a minority shareholding;  
(b) independence from the tobacco industry in financial  terms; such independence 
is presumed  if the provider generates less than  20% of its an nual overall 
turnover with the goods and services  supplied to the tobacco sector;   
(c) absence of conflicts of interests with the tobacco industry . In particular, t he 
persons responsible for the management of the  provider : 
(1) must not participate in company struc tures of the tobacco industry;  and 
(2) must act independently from any interest linked to the tobacco industry.  
Article 10 
Addressees  
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels  
 For the Commission  
  
  
  
 The President  
 […]