Times Report
PESHAWAR: Advisor to the KP Chief Minister Muzzammil Aslam chaired an important meeting on tobacco cess and revenue with parliamentarians from Swabi at the Finance Department, Civil Secretariat, Peshawar. The meeting was attended by former Speaker of the National Assembly and Member of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser, former Provincial Minister and MNA Shahram Khan Tarakai, MPA Abdul Karim Tordher, MPA Rangaiz Khan, as well as officials from the Planning & Development Department and the Excise Department.
The meeting held a detailed discussion on the challenges faced by tobacco growers, issues related to tobacco cultivation, the tobacco cess, and the revenue generated from it.
On the request of former Speaker Asad Qaiser, Shahram Khan Tarakai, and other parliamentarians, the participants agreed in principle to reduce the tobacco cess by Rs. 5 per kilogram. Following approval from the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an ordinance will be sent for approval to amend the Finance Bill accordingly.
For the current financial year, the tobacco cess had increased by 10 percent annually, rising from Rs. 27.50 per kilogram to Rs. 30.25 per kilogram. However, the meeting agreed in principle to reduce it to Rs. 25 per kilogram.
Addressing the meeting, KP Finance Adviser Muzzammil Aslam said that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, agriculture became a provincial subject. However, tobacco remains the only crop that has not yet been transferred to the provinces, and the federal government continues to levy taxes on it. He noted that, unlike tobacco, the federal government does not impose taxes on any other crops, including wheat and sugarcane.
Muzzammil Aslam urged the federal government to immediately transfer tobacco to the provinces so that the tax collected on tobacco accrues to the provincial governments. He said that the Rs. 390 per kilogram tax currently being collected by the federal government on tobacco is the rightful share of the province.
He further stated that the revenue generated from tobacco taxes is being distributed among other provinces through the divisible pool, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa does not receive tax revenue from any other agricultural crop, making the current arrangement unfair to the province.
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