Sales of Illicit cigarettes outpace legal tobacco industry

ISLAMABAD: The volume of illegal cigarettes being sold in Pakistan has surpassed the volume of the legal sector, reaching the highest level in the last

According to sources in the tobacco sector and official data, as per current statistics, 51.4 billion illegal cigarettes sticks are being sold in Pakistan while the volume of the legal cigarette industry has decreased to 29.6 billion cigarettes sticks annually.

It official data revealed that Illegal sector is using fake tax stamps on cigarette packets. While demanding strict action against illegal cigarettes, sources in the Pakistan Tobacco Company said that track and trace could not be implemented in local cigarette factories in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.

The illegal sector is using fake tax stamps on cigarette packets, with more than 42.5 million packets of fake tax stamp cigarettes being sold in the market.

The sources informed that currently, only two cigarette companies are fully implementing the track and trace systems.

The Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) has demanded strict action against illegal cigarette traders and maintained that ‘unbalanced’ government policies and illegal trade are harming the legal industry.

The PTC sources revealed that the volume of illegal trade is being shown in a lesser amount to serve a specific agenda. “The actual figures and ground realities differ from official FBR figures,” the PTC sources claimed.

Earlier on January 18, it was reported that approximately Rs5.7 billion are lost every year as fake cigarettes are being sold, evading duties and taxes.

It is important to note that more than 42.5 million counterfeit tax stamp cigarettes are in the market, and currently, only two cigarette companies are fully implementing the track and trace systems.

The industry shave demanded that all cigarette manufacturing companies should strictly implement track and trace systems to rein in the sale of illegal cigarette.