ISLAMABAD: The government can generate additional revenue of estimated Rs19 billion following increase in the rates of the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes by 30 percent in budget (2021-22), a group of anti-tobacco activists said, on Friday.

The activists have formally submitted this proposal to the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations and urged the government to include these proposals in the upcoming budget.

The Health Ministry would forward the proposal to the Federal Board of revenue (FBR) for consideration in the federal budget (2021-22).

According to the budget proposals, experts suggested the government to raise tobacco excise to Rs43 on the low-price tier and Rs135 on the premium tier that would result in 219,000 fewer smokers; 3.8 percent reduction in smoking prevalence among adults; and 6.4 percent reduction in smoking intensity among adults.

They said the proposed tax scheme would also help save at least 76,800 lives and Rs19 billion in additional total tax revenue-an increase of at least 14.4 percent from the existing tax collection.

The document shared by the anti-tobacco activists said that tobacco taxes in Pakistan were low and cigarettes were cheap. The average excise tax share is 45.4 percent of the retail price, much lower than the WHO recommendation that excise tax be at least 70 percent of the retail price, the document said.

It said the cigarette prices in Pakistan are among the lowest in the world, and the effective excise tax rate on cigarettes in 2020-21 is still the same as it was in 2016-17. The cigarettes in Pakistan became more affordable in 2020-21 from a combination of no change in the federal excise tax and increases in nominal income and inflation.

Pakistan is ranked among the worst-performing countries in the Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard with a score of less than one on a five-point scale.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021