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Parliament passes bill amending customs code

A finance ministry bill amending the customs code in order to help a crackdown on illegal tobacco and tobacco product sales was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, with broad support from nearly all parties.

Both the ruling coalition parties, SYRIZA and ANEL, but also main opposition New Democracy, Potami, the Democratic Alliance and the Centrists' Union voted in favour of the bill in principle. Far-right Golden Dawn voted against the bill, while the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) abstained.
Concluding the debate in Parliament, Alternate Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis noted that the collection of tax revenue was going well and that an automatic spending cuts mechanism will not need to be activated. At the same time, he noted that the government was "not happy and will do the things that we have promised to the Greek people."
In addition to changes to the national customs code, the bill also founded a Coordinating Centre for Combatting Illegal Trade.