Provision for a Tobacco Track and Trace System

HMRC intend to award a concession contract to a single supplier for the United Kingdom's Tobacco Track and Trace system, in support of the World Health Organization Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

The UK currently has a supplier providing services to enable the continued tracking and tracing of tobacco products manufactured in or imported into the UK. The existing contract is expected to expire at the end of October 27, and HMRC intends to appoint a supplier to deliver the service on a replacement basis.

The purpose of this Notice is to alert interested parties and gain interest. The intention is to award a concession contract with an anticipated duration of up to five years.

The UK ratified the WHO Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2018. The Protocol requires parties to implement an effective traceability system for tobacco products manufactured in or imported into their territory, taking account of regional specific requirements and international best practice. The UK system operates as a standalone national system and must also support specific arrangements for Northern Ireland in accordance with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The provider's main responsibilities are expected to include delivery of an end to end Tobacco Track and Trace service, including:

• an ID issuer service, to ensure tobacco products manufactured in or imported into the UK are assigned a unique identifier; and
• a data routing and repository service, to securely receive, validate, store and make available traceability data relating to tobacco products, accessible to HMRC and other authorised authorities.

The service is expected to operate at national scale, support high volume transactional data, and meet applicable UK and international legislative requirements. The contract will be awarded under a concession model, with costs recovered from industry users rather than HMRC.

HMRC may refine and further define the detailed requirements during the procurement process, including operational, technical, performance, security, and transition arrangements.