ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) continues to delay implementation of the Health Levy Bill on invalid reasons, according to the legal viewpoint of senior lawyers here on Tuesday.

This was expressed by senior lawyers during a press briefing held by PANAH and other human rights organisations, to shed light on the reasons for delay in the implementation of Health Levy Bill that was approved by the cabinet in 2019.

During the press briefing, the Supreme Court lawyer, Mohammad Akhlaq, clarified that the FBR was not the authority to contest the legal position of the bill, when the same was vetted by the Law and Justice Department, and was approved by the Cabinet. He further stressed that the federal government could constitutionally impose levy on tobacco products.

Pakistan National Heart Association Secretary General Sanaullah Ghumman stated that health was a fundamental right of the people, the provision of which was the responsibility of the government. He further added that smoking and sugary drinks were a major cause of various diseases including heart disease.

All international bodies including the WHO stress the need to reduce consumption of such deadly products by increasing of taxes on them. Malik Imran, country representative, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said that the FBR was deliberately delaying the implementation of health levy on tobacco products, which was approved by the Cabinet with special directions from the Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

He added that due to this delay, Pakistan had lost more than Rs50 billion and was continuously losing large revenues, which could have been utilised for various schemes of public welfare by the government, including Ehsaas Programme or Universal Health Insurance Card.

In 2019, the federal cabinet in its meeting held on 28th May, 2019, approved to include in the Finance Bill 2019-2020 regarding imposition of health levy on cigarettes at the rate of Rs10 per pack of 20 cigarettes, and Re1 on 250ml of carbonated drinks.

The revenue generated through the health tax was proposed to earmark for the health sector development over and above its routine budgetary allocation. However, the health levy could not be imposed because the FBR did not follow clear directions from the cabinet, and did not include the health levy bill in the final budget document.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020