---
title: "SFS confirms 10% cigarette price hike starting January 2026"
url: https://radiomoldova.md/p/65022/sfs-confirms-10-cigarette-price-hike-starting-january-2026
published: 2025-12-05T10:55:23Z
language: en
author: "Bogdan Nigai"
section: "Social"
source: radiomoldova.md
---

# SFS confirms 10% cigarette price hike starting January 2026

> Cigarettes and cigarillos in Moldova will see a 10% price hike starting January 1, 2026, after the State Tax Service (SFS) set a new minimum retail price (reference price) for a standard pack of 20 units at 46.59 lei.

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/c1e079df-71e1-4a52-8070-e5968cd16379.jpg)

Cigarettes and cigarillos in Moldova will see a 10% price hike starting January 1, 2026, after the State Tax Service (SFS) set a new minimum retail price (reference price) for a standard pack of 20 units at 46.59 lei.

The previous minimum allowed cigarette price in 2025 was 42.35 lei.
​The SFS is warning retailers that selling tobacco products at any price lower than this set reference price is strictly prohibited, regardless of the type of commercial unit.

​**Significant Commercial Fines for Non-Compliance**

​The agency underscores that non-compliance with this regulation carries severe penalties.

​According to the Fiscal Code provisions, selling cigarettes below the minimum retail price is punishable by a commercial fine ranging from 30% to 50% of the total stock value found during control. This value is calculated based on the reference price.

​**How the Minimum Retail Price is Calculated**

​The reference price is fundamentally linked to the minimum excise tax established for the respective year.
​The Fiscal Code outlines the calculation: the minimum excise rate applied to 1,000 cigarettes, multiplied by a coefficient of 1.46, and then proportioned to the number of cigarettes in the pack.

​For 2026, the minimum excise tax for 1,000 cigarettes is set at 1,595 lei, a figure that directly resulted in the new minimum retail price of 46.59 lei per pack.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**