LAHORE: Expressing serious concerns over the government’s unprecedented increase in the FED rate on locally produced cigarettes, the All Pakistan Union of Pan-Cigarette Beverage Retailers (APUPCBR) said this hike poses a serious threat to the employment of pan-cigarette vendors.

Led by Haji Muhammad Mubeen Yusuf Butt, President of the body, a protest was held outside the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday, where a large number of pan-cigarette vendors participated.

The protesters carried placards and raised slogans, demanding that the government revise the tax rate on legal cigarettes, which has led to increased demand for illegal cigarettes.

The participants demanded an immediate solution to the serious impact on their business due to the high cost of legal cigarettes.

Addressing the protesters, Mubeen Yusuf Butt stated that the federal government has increased the federal excise duty on cigarettes by 250%, by which a tax of Rs 400 is imposed on a pack of Rs 80 resulting the sale of legal cigarettes has reduced by 50%.

Consumers who are already suffering from inflation are demanding cheap cigarettes, mostly illegal. Selling illegal cigarettes will put shopkeepers in legal trouble, and limiting themselves to selling legal cigarettes will affect their livelihoods, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023