Join Us

Benefits of ITSA

Membership of ITSA will allow your business to:

Shape the direction of tax stamp specification, deployment and implementation

Promote the interests of the tax stamp industry and advance the benefits of tax stamp programmes at international, regional and national level, thereby demonstrating your leadership in this field

Contribute to a range of white papers, case studies and position statements, produced by ITSA

Gain valuable ‘face-to-face time’ with tax stamp issuing authorities through regional workshops, conference-related activities, and direct enquiries received by the secretariat and shared with members

In addition, the membership package includes:

Tax Stamp & Traceability News™

A monthly downloadable PDF of the 8-page publication Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ (normal subscription costs £2,260)

Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™

20% off the delegate fee for attending the annual Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™, as well as a discount for sponsoring or exhibiting at the Forum

Tender Alerts

Tax stamp and secure track and trace tender alert notifications, for both the excise goods industry and other industries such as food and pharma

CIN - EU Tobacco Products Directive

The possibility to obtain a unique company identification number (CIN) from ITSA, which is a registered CIN issuer. (All companies wishing to be ID issuers under the EU Tobacco Products Directive must possess their own CINs.)

And lastly, membership of ITSA signifies that you are committed to meeting the rigorous requirements of the Association’s Code of Conduct, thereby assuring your customers, suppliers and partners of ethical business practices and quality products.

How to Join Us

ITSA offers two types of membership:

1Full membership – open to legally incorporated businesses that are suppliers of:

Components and features of tax stamps

Finished tax stamps

Equipment for the design, manufacture, application and authentication of tax stamps, or

Systems for coding and marking tax stamps

All new members must have a legitimate and established interest and business in tax stamps, and must provide evidence of this interest when submitting their application. All members must also agree to abide by the Code of Conduct.

2Associate membership – open to government authorities with an interest in tax stamps and associated tax management and track and trace systems. Such authorities include revenue and customs, procurement, regulatory, and enforcement agencies. Associate membership is not open to suppliers of tax stamps or associated components and systems.

Member Rates
Full membership – £5,000 per annum
Associate membership – free of charge

The benefits are the same for both categories, with the exception that associate members do not have voting rights and cannot hold a seat on the ITSA Board.

Full Membership Application Form

Associate Membership Application Form

ITSA Code of Conduct

1Members of the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) undertake to operate their business in a manner which enhances the reputation of the tax stamp industry and ITSA. In dealings with each other, with customers and suppliers, members will observe high standards of business integrity and ethics.

2All ITSA members undertake to abide by the ITSA Articles of Association.

3ITSA members will respect intellectual property and will not knowingly infringe or cause others to knowingly infringe intellectual property. Members will undertake due diligence in the selection of suppliers and the acceptance of customers to ensure that they are legitimate providers or users of technologies and systems for the production and distribution of tax stamps, and the implementation of tax stamp programmes.

4ITSA members will not engage in anti-competitive practices.

5ITSA members which are producers of tax stamps and/or suppliers of components will recognise that there are many different methods and devices available to help to produce, authenticate, code and track tax stamps and will promote their system, device or other product on its merits. Members will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics and functioning of their products or their capabilities or those of other producers or suppliers.

6ITSA members will embark on a continuous process of enhancement and improvement to their supply and distribution chain security procedures.

7ITSA members which are which are producers of tax stamps and/or suppliers of components will ensure that all their staff understand the nature of the security industry, and that they must operate accordingly so as not to put at risk the business or activities of customers.

8ITSA members will work constructively and closely with their customers to convey appropriate knowledge, training and equipment for the most efficient implementation of tax stamp programmes.

9ITSA members will put in place risk management policies to ensure that they minimise health and safety risks to their staff, visitors and customers; that they minimise risk of compromise of their products used by customers; and they minimise risk to the environment.

10Every member of the ITSA accepts a responsibility to uphold this Code of Conduct and to strive to enhance the reputation of the ITSA so that membership is seen to stand for quality and customer satisfaction.

11A member in breach of this obligation, or otherwise operating in such a way as to bring the ITSA and the industry into disrepute, should be brought to the attention of the Board for investigation. If the complaint is found to be justified, the members will be notified at a General Meeting, which is empowered to suspend the membership or expel from membership such companies.