Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) has contributed over Rs 74 billion to the government in the form of federal excise duty (FED), sales tax, income tax and customs duty during January-December 2014 as compared to the same period of last year, reflecting an increase of 19 percent.
According to the financial results released by the company here on Monday, the company contributed more than Rs 74 billion to Government revenues on account of duties and taxes, which is a 19% increase over the same period last year. The company also declared a net turnover of Rs 36.6 billion and a profit of Rs 4.8 billion with an earning per share of Rs 18.98.
Tobacco industry is a major revenue spinner and contributed more than Rs 87 billion to the national kitty in 2013-2014. This fiscal year (2014-15), the sectors revenue contribution is expected to be in the vicinity of Rs 100 billion. The government had revised upward federal excise duty (FED) structure on cigarettes on the basis of new FED slabs to increase the incidence of tax on cigarette manufacturing companies. Table-I of the First Schedule of the Federal Excise Act 2005 was amended in budget (2014-15) to specify the two tier specific rate structure. As per experts, the legitimate industry volume is under pressure due to prevalence of a high incidence of illegal cigarette trade. The incidence of illegal trade in cigarettes is said to stand at an alarming rate of around 25% and is causing a per annum loss of over Rs 20 billion to the national exchequer.