ISLAMABAD: There is a strong pressure of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the government of Pakistan to further raise Federal Excise Duty (FED) on all brands of cigarettes in budget (2025-26).
Sources told Business Recorder that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is facing international pressure to increase the FED on cigarettes due to health -related issues.
When asked about decrease in volumes and sales of two leading cigarette manufacturing companies due to 200 percent FED on this item officials said that the decrease in sales could not deny the fact that the smoking is injurious to health and internationally a minimum standard of taxes has been fixed on the sales of cigarettes.
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During the last meeting of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Rashid Mahmood Langrial admitted lack of enforcement to deal with the illicit cigarettes in the country.
The FBR Chairman disclosed that out of 10 trucks of smuggled/illicit cigarettes, only one is confiscated due to limited manpower of the tax machinery. The new powers to provinces would help in checking illicit cigarettes at the retail level with the help of provincial law enforcement agencies.
He stated that any cigarette without the mandatory stamp is illegal and indicated that the FBR would seek the assistance of provincial law enforcement agencies to combat the trade of illegal cigarettes. The FBR is devising a standing operating procedure (SOP) for enforcement with the help of law enforcement agencies.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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