Member States allowing tax stamps or national identification marks for fiscal purposes to be used to develop security features shall ensure that the final security features comply with the requirements of Article 3 of this Decision and Article 16 of Directive 2014/40/EU.

Where a tax stamp or national identification mark for fiscal purposes intended for use as a security feature does not comply with one or more of the requirements referred to in paragraph 1, it shall only be used as a part of the security feature. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that manufacturers and importers of tobacco products are informed of the additional types of authentication elements required to develop a compliant security feature.

The information referred to in paragraph 2 shall be made available to manufacturers and importers of tobacco products by 20 September 2018 at the latest. Any subsequent information related to changes to the tax stamp or national identification mark for fiscal purposes intended for use as a security feature shall be communicated to manufacturers and importers of tobacco products at least 6 months prior to the date when the changes are intended to take effect, provided this information is necessary for them to develop a compliant security feature.