DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The Kisan Board Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, has urged the federal government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately abolish the Rs 390 per kg advance tax on tobacco exports, warning that flawed policies are pushing growers and the industry toward collapse.
Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Kisan Board KP Central Vice President Rizwanullah Khan said that due to the FBR’s “unjust” tax regime, there were currently no buyers for 88 million kg of tobacco in the market. He projected losses of Rs 47 billion for tobacco farmers this season.
Khan stated that KP produces 100 million kg of tobacco annually, with Philip Morris Pakistan Tobacco Company purchasing only 32 million kg. He said the federal government and FBR were imposing an advance tax of Rs 390 on per kg tobacco exports, which he called excessive and unsustainable.
“The tobacco industry is incurring losses due to unpaid dues and poor policies by the government and the Pakistan Tobacco Board,” he said. “Farmers are distressed, and neither the federal budget nor the authorities have provided any relief or listened to our concerns.”
He noted that the tobacco sector contributes around Rs 400 billion annually to the national exchequer and provides livelihoods to about 100,000 people. Khan demanded a farmer-friendly policy that ensures relief alongside taxation.
“While the government collects Rs 400 billion from this industry each year, it must also provide relief. The situation is the opposite right now,” he said.
Khan appealed to the provincial government to provide relief to the tobacco industry in the upcoming budget following the 18th Amendment. He added that growers were also hit hard by the closure of the Pak-Afghan border, which had disrupted the sale of tobacco and other agricultural produce.
He called on federal ministers, parliamentary leaders, and opposition leaders to raise the issue in budget proposals and provide relief to tobacco growers and the industry.
“If the federal budget is passed without relief for the tobacco sector, we will stage a prolonged sit-in outside Parliament House along with farmers to press for our demands,” Khan warned.
