SPDC Press

The three-tier structure of excise duty on cigarettes introduced in 2017 has not only led to a significant increase in the consumption of cigarettes but also resulted in substantial revenue loss of Rs 42.5 billion in 2017-18. Therefore, the price-tier-based structure of FED should be abolished, and a single, high, uniform tax be applied to all types of cigarettes, which would not only help curb tobacco use in the country but would also contribute in generating more revenues that can be used for promoting public health. Read more... Read More

The three-tier tobacco FED regime introduced in May 2017 has led to multiple controversies. (Read: ‘A case against multi-tier tobacco tax regime,’ published December 16, 2018). One of those is the billions in tax revenues that are suspected to have been lost in the past one and a half years. Read More

Introduced in May 2017 to counter alleged trade of illicit cigarettes, the three-tier tobacco FED regime has been controversial since the start. (Read ‘Illicit cigarettes: a smokescreen?’ published April 13, 2018).  Read More

Conceding political clout being used by the players of tobacco industry as major stumbling block for increasing taxation, the FBR stated that the tax collection from cigarettes would be increased from the existing Rs114 billion to Rs200 billion over next three years. Read more... Read More

اسلام آباد ( مہتاب حیدر) ایف بی آر نے کہا ہے کہ اگلے تین سال میں سگریٹ سے ٹیکس وصولی 114ارب سے بڑھ کر200 ارب ہو جائے گی، ایف بی آر کے ممبر ان لینڈ ریونیو پالیسی ڈاکٹر حامد عتیق سرور نے سوشل پالیسی اینڈ ڈیولپمنٹ سنٹر (ایس پی ڈی سی) کے زیر اہتمام ’’کوائنٹی فائنگ دی پوٹینشل ٹیکس بیس آف سگریٹ انڈسٹری ان پاکستان‘‘ کے موضوع پر ریسرچ… Read More

A latest study estimates that FBR suffered tax loss of over Rs30 billion in 2018 on account of duty-non-paid (DNP) cigarettes. The tobacco industry observers will be quick to recall how the “DNP cigarettes" have become a bête noire for the formal tobacco players like Pakistan Tobacco and Philip Morris Pakistan. DNP is such a bogeyman that it has been used to lobby for tax changes in Pakistan recently. Read more... Read More

The tobacco industry makes a hue and cry about high taxation and smuggling every time irregularities in the industry are brought up. But even as they badger the government into curbing smuggling, here is how they are cheating on their tax liabilities. Read more...  Read More

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ISLAMABAD: With claim of causing losses of Rs153 billion to national exchequer by tobacco industry through various tactics, the anti-tobacco campaigners have asked government to place an independent and transparent Track & Trace System to stop under-reporting of real production. Read more... Read More

ISLAMABAD: The Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), Human Development Foundation (HDF) and Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) organised a session on ‘Loss of revenue because of deceptive tactics of tobacco industry’ on Friday. Read more... Read More

Members of civil society, consumers’ rights groups and non-government organizations (NGOs) have called upon the government to impose health levy on cigarettes without further delay. Read more... Read More

Pakistan’s major tobacco industry caused a whopping loss of Rs153 billion to the national exchequer from 2016 to 2019 as it was levied low tax rate and allowed price adjustment of their most sold brands. Read more... Read More

Speakers at a media awareness session here on Wednesday said the higher taxes on tobacco products created a win-win situation as these resulted in increasing revenues and also improving public health due to reduction in tobacco consumption. Read more... Read More

Waseem Saleem, Senior Economist at Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) said that the large fiscal imbalances in Pakistan require greater tax revenues. He added that the level of under-reporting of cigarette production in Pakistan has negative implications for government tax revenue. Read more... Read More

Islamabad : Tobacco use has a significant impact on the economic costs of a country, including the healthcare costs for treating tobacco related diseases and lost productivity of workforce. Read more... Read More