It has become difficult for the government to meet the tax collection target from cigarettes (Photo: File).
Karachi: A huge increase in the federal excise duty rate on cigarettes has reduced legal sales by 50 percent.
According to Director Finance Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited Muhammad Zeeshan, in the current economic conditions, preventing the damage caused to the economy by illegal trade has become very necessary. The government can make recovery efforts fruitful by providing an enabling environment for tax-paying organized industry.
Also read: Expected to collect 185 billion tax from the cigarette industry
He said that the excise duty has been increased three times this fiscal year. It was increased by 25% in June and August and 150% in February. With this increase, the excise duty on cigarettes has gone up to 200 percent. Statistics from the first quarter show that legal cigarette sales have fallen by 50 percent.
In an emergency letter sent by the All Pakistan Central Union Pan Cigarette Beverage Retailers to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the extraordinary increase in the federal excise duty rate on legal cigarettes has informed the negative impact on the Pan Cigarette Retailers.
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