Price hike, supplementary duty on cigarettes can generate Tk47,000cr revenue in FY25: Workshop
Price hike and supplementary duty imposition on tobacco products to help curb tobacco use in the country, discussants say
In the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25 budget, the government should impose a specific supplementary duty on all tobacco products, alongside increasing the prices, to curb tobacco use and boost revenue generation from the sector.
This was recommended at a workshop on "imposition of an effective tax and price hike on tobacco products in the upcoming FY 2024-25 budget," jointly organised by the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor and Economic Reporters Forum in the capital's Paltan yesterday.
A total of 25 economic journalists from the country's print, electronic and online media participated in the workshop. Former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman was the chief guest.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
As per estimates revealed at the event, if uniform supplementary duty is imposed on tobacco products in the upcoming budget, the revenue from the cigarette sector alone will reach around Tk47,000 crores, up by 28% than that in the previous fiscal.
If implemented, the move will also encourage around 15 lakh adults in the country to quit smoking. Also, 10 lakh young people would be discouraged from starting smoking, and in the long term around 11 lakh premature deaths from tobacco use would be prevented, said participants.
This would also play a crucial role in attaining the goal of a tobacco-free country by the prime minister by 2040, they added.
As per estimates, in FY18 alone, the economic loss in terms of medical expenses and productivity loss due to tobacco use was Tk30,560 crore.
During the workshop, several recommendations on taxation and pricing of tobacco products in the upcoming FY25 were presented.
The recommendations include imposition of specific supplementary duties based on price level with uniform coverage on all cigarette brands and other tobacco products.
The workshop was moderated by Rubina Islam, programme coordinator of the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, while Abdullah Nadvi, research director at Unnayan Somonnoy, presented the key proposals.
Shafin Nahin Shimul, associate professor of Health Economics at Dhaka University, and Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mridha, president of Economic Reporters Forum, were the discussants.
Azhar Ali Talukder, executive adviser of the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, delivered the welcoming speech, while Chairman of the organisation Mohammad Nurul Amin announced the closing of the event.
