Germany news: 'Tech error' brings early cigarette tax hike

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• Germany's Finance Ministry has erroneously introduced an approved tax hike on tobacco products months before it was scheduled to come into effect

• A 'technical error' with incorrect dates is said to have caused the flub

• The issue is further complicated by the fact that tax stamps for the new rate are not yet ready, meaning tobacco companies cannot pay the new, significantly higher rate

• Alice Weidel of the AfD will pitch what she is calling "A New Deal for Europe" in Strasbourg this afternoon

• NVIDIA's Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote address at a Berlin AI conference on AI chips, infrastructure, software and robotics

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Skip next section Tobacco tax introduced months early

October 21, 2026

Tobacco tax introduced months early

Germany's Finance Ministry said that a "technical error" had led to the early introduction of a steep tax hike on tobacco products.

The hike received final parliamentary approval on Friday and had been scheduled to go into effect at the turn of the year.  

Instead the changes officially gazetted on Tuesday stated that they would come into force on Wednesday.

"A technical error occurred in the documents regarding the effective date," said the Ministry, adding that a correction had been initiated.

The changes are expected to pump some €12 billion ($13.5 billion) in added tax revenue over the next four years.

However, tobacco companies will be unable to pay the higher rate due to the fact that new tax stamps are not yet available.

Currently, a 20-pack of cigarettes costs around €8-€10. The Finance Ministry expects that price to rise to between €12 and €14 per pack. 

Roughly 1-in-5 people (19%) smoke in Germany, with around 130,000 dying of tobacco-related illness each year. 

Although health experts and politicians hope that higher prices will deter people from smoking, the German Customs Union and the tobacco industry warn that smokers could simply turn to contraband cigarettes instead.

https://p.dw.com/p/5OUgp

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

October 21, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Morgen from the DW newsroom in Bonn where we start the day looking at a cigarette tax hike that has gone into effect months before scheduled after "a technical error."

The price hike was supposed to happen at the beginning of 2028 but will now start today.

In Strasbourg, France, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-Chair Alice Weidel will hold a press conference announcing what she has billed "A New Deal for Europe." AfD EU Parliamentarians Rene Aust and Alexander Sell will accompany her.