Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Tax service is on the prowl for fake whisky
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897245

Spirits to be high-tech monitored

Phony booze is in the taxman�s sights.

The National Tax Service said yesterday it has launched a trial operation to last until the end of the year of an electronic tag attached on the bottles of two types of whisky, to clamp down on fake products and track their distribution routes.

A total of 15,000 bottles of 21-year-old and 17-year-old whisky carrying the Imperial label from Pernod Ricard Korea will each carry a Radio Frequency Identification sticker during the 51-day period.

The tax agency will distribute a dongle, a piece of hardware that connects to mobile phones, to 24 liquor wholesalers, 10 E-Mart discount stores and 100 restaurants and bars nationwide.

Whether or not the whisky is genuine can be checked by reading the RFID on the bottle using the dongle, which transfers the unique verification number of each product to the server of the National Tax Service via wireless Internet.

The RFID also contains information on the whereabouts and total number of bottles of the product because wholesalers and bars are required to use readers when they receive delivery of the products.

�The trial service, if successful, is expected to help repel fake whisky,� said an official in the Excise Tax Division at the tax agency.

�Not only that, but another anticipated benefit from the tag system is being able to precisely check how the liquor is distributed.

�We could prevent the sale of whisky that is traded without issuance of tax invoices - a widely used method of evading taxes.�

It will help improve tax revenue, he added.

Bogus liquor is rampant in Korea because they have hefty profit margins.

When sold at bars and restaurants, they sometimes cost more than double or triple the prices at retailers. The fake liquor market is estimated at 1 trillion won ($752 million).

Whisky manufacturers have been mobilizing to fight against fake goods.

For example, Diageo Korea has developed a system whereby a small weight dangled in the cap of the Windsor whisky bottle automatically detaches when it is opened.

Scotch Blue from Lotte Chilsung Beverages has developed a label that turns red from blue when a specially devised solution is applied. If the label doesn�t change color, it�s fake.


By Seo Ji-eun Staff Reporter [[email protected]]

[wylies99]