Cigarettes will cost more again from March 2027, when the excise duty rises to €126 per 1,000 cigarettes, according to the budget plan Bulgaria has sent to Brussels.

It is the second of three planned rises. The first came in August this year, when the duty went up from €113 to €120 per 1,000 cigarettes. The third is set for 1 January 2028.

Bulgaria is raising the duty ahead of schedule. The plan says this will bring the budget an extra €220.2m in VAT and excise duty in 2027, or 0.16% of GDP, the value of everything the country produces in a year.