The chairman of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, announced that a suspension of fiscal stamp sales is being considered. If the authorities fail to resolve the black-market trafficking of these stamps, a draft law with double emergency status will be proposed.

The Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee held a meeting on Thursday to address this dossier, in light of the Court of Audit’s report on the development of a black market for fiscal stamps. Present were the Court of Audit President, Judge Mohammad Badran, and three magistrates at this court including Public Prosecutor Fawzi Khamis, the Revenue Director at the Ministry of Finance, Louay El Hajj Chehade, and other departmental officials.

Ibrahim Kanaan’s remarks on the matter were harsh. The MP criticized control bodies, the government, and even the Security Forces, accusing them of “failing to perform their duties for years.” He also highlighted “the humiliations Lebanese citizens endure to obtain stamps.”

In this context, he wondered why the law mandating the transition to electronic printing has not been implemented, despite being enacted two years ago.

According to Kanaan, fiscal stamps contributed $1.8 million to the Treasury in 2023, whereas traffickers, capitalizing on the initial scarcity of these stamps at the beginning of the Lebanese crisis, amassed profits totaling at least $20 to $30 million over two years.

It is worth recalling that these stamps are sold covertly, often in shops or groceries, at prices far exceeding their nominal values. “A stamp worth LBP 2,000 is openly traded for between LBP 300,000 and 400,000. This solicits the question: Where are the Security Forces?” exclaimed MP Kanaan with indignation.

However, it is impossible to achieve administrative procedures without these famous stamps, parsimoniously released onto the market by the Ministry of Finance for lack of reserves, since the last significant printing of fiscal stamps dates back to 2016.

MP Kanaan explained that, before moving forward with proposing a bill to freeze the sale of fiscal stamps, the committee requested the Ministry of Finance to provide, within a week, a report on the revenue generated by these stamps and future projections. They also sought to determine the necessary timeline for implementing electronic stamps.

Once in possession of this data, they will convene a meeting to discuss and decide on the appropriate course of action.