ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data revealed that the Khyber Tobacco Company Limited (KTCL) is the largest tax contributing company from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and is the only national cigarette manufacturer to implement electronic ‘Track and Trace’ system.
The FBR has been regulatory monitoring collection of sales tax and federal excise duty (FED) from this national company which has fully implemented the track and trace system.
The company’s data available with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) disclosed that during 2022-23, the company has targeted to bring in millions of dollars to add to Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings and is set to achieve just under US$$100 million of orders.
In June 2022, KTCL became the first company to implement this track and trace system. To date only three companies have implemented the system, one of them being KTCL. Many other companies continue to be reluctant and using the courts to challenge its implementation for one reason or the other.
Industry sources informed that Samera Irfan is one of those individuals, who have embarked upon a journey of numerous successes and has become the “first ever” CEO of a listed cigarette manufacturing company of Pakistan.
The Board of Directors appointed her as the first woman CEO of a cigarette company in Pakistan. Since then, she has put KTCL on a growth trajectory and the company has grown phenomenally while the company’s CAGR based on revenue is 19.13% for the past 5 years. KTC is Pakistan’s only national cigarette manufacturer which is listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and is the only such company which is not majority owned by foreign entities.
Ms. Samera is known for writing to the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2021 to support the track & trace system. She publicly supported this initiative whilst many other competitors were shying away from its implementation.
She has been instrumental in obtaining export orders for her company. This year she received a top exporter award in the tobacco sector from the President of Pakistan. KTCL has continually outshined its competitors in tobacco exports.
In recent months, KTCL stock has outperformed many stocks on Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023