Tobacco stakeholders call for removal of ‘excessive’ taxes, seek incentives

PESHAWAR
Tobacco growers, exporters, and industrialists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have demanded the abolition of additional taxes on the crop and urged the government to extend incentives similar to those given to the cotton sector.
In a joint statement issued through the Tobacco Action Committee, representatives of farmers, dealers, exporters, and local industry said tobacco, as an agricultural crop, should not be subjected to multiple taxes under the Constitution. They alleged that 11 different taxes have been imposed on the sector from cultivation to sale.
The committee said the provincial government’s Rs27.50 per kg tobacco cess, coupled with a new Rs50 per kg tax, had placed severe financial strain on farmers and the local industry.
“While cotton farmers and textile exporters in Punjab receive billions of rupees in incentives on electricity, gas, and export duties, the tobacco sector in KP is being denied relief and its industrialists are being harassed,” the statement read.
It added that despite strict monitoring by federal agencies and the implementation of the Track and Trace System, negative propaganda against the local industry continued.
The stakeholders called on the Prime Minister, the Federal Ministers for Finance and Interior, and the Chief Minister of KP to immediately withdraw the provincial cess and additional taxes.
They also demanded export facilitation measures for the sector to help increase foreign exchange earnings and protect the livelihoods of thousands of families dependent on tobacco.