Updated Tax Stamp Standard Accepted for Publication

The revised and updated version of ISO 22382, the international tax stamp standard, has been accepted for publication and is expected to be released in the autumn, subject to the completion of ISO’s pre-publication procedures.

The revision represents a significant update to the first edition published in 2018. Particular attention has been paid to developments in direct marking and unique identifiers, while the content has been reorganised to make it more accessible to revenue authorities, the principal users of the standard. Improving readability and ease of use, without weakening the guidance, was a major objective of the standard drafting group.

Main changes versus 2018

One simple but significant change between the 2018 version and this one is in the standard’s full title, which in 2018 included ‘excise tax stamps’ but which has now dropped ‘excise’.

This change recognises that these stamps are now used on a wider range of products – consumer and industrial – than the tobacco products and alcoholic drinks subject to excise taxes. The full title of the revised standard, therefore, is ‘Security and resilience – Authenticity, integrity and trust for products and documents – Guidelines for the content, security, issuance and examination of tax stamps’.