PESHAWAR
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Excise Minister Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman and Finance Advisor Muzamil Aslam presided over a meeting on tobacco wherein they discussed ways and means to adopt steps for the welfare of the people associated with it.
In the meeting, Excise Minister Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman said that due to better measures regarding cess and excise tax, there is a significant increase in revenue and this increase will be spent for the welfare of the people of the province.
Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Faisal Usman Khel, Secretary Agriculture Javed Marwat and Secretary Law Akhtar Saeed Turk were also present in the meeting. During the meeting, it was agreed that tobacco is a crop that falls under the category of agriculture and after the 81st amendment, the province has the authority over the agricultural sector.
In the meeting, it was agreed that Cess is a provincial right and in this regard, the Tobacco Board should be transferred to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to collect excise duty.
The provincial duty and tax collected in this regard will be used for further improvement of tobacco crop, sustainable development, improvement of infrastructure and it will be spent for the overall development of the province, the Minister added.
The Agriculture and Excise Department will jointly take measures for the tobacco crop, the major part of which is produced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
