Tobacco Asia

44 tobaccoasia MANUFACTURING NEWS 制造新闻 Product Manufacturing Recommended for Kerala India's Center for Development Studies (CDS) is recommend- ing eight different types of tobacco products be manufactured in Kerala as part of the "Make in Kerala" project, aiming to reduce the state's trade deficit. CDS data shows that 63.67% of tobacco products consumed in Kerala are imported into the state from other states annually. The recommended products for manufacturing in the state include beedi, cigarette, cigarette tobacco, 'chur- uttu' cigar, snuff, and pan masala. The recommendation to manufacture tobacco products in the state came during a time when the state government is trying to combat the use of psychotropic drugs. It also is against the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Regulatory Act. All Clear for Pakistan's T&T System The Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed all petitions challenging the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) Track and Trace System (TTS), clearing the way of any obstacles in implementing the system in the tobacco sector. The court found the writ petitions submitted by Univer- sal Tobacco, Sarhad Cigarettes Industry, Paramount Tobacco Company, and others to be without merit and dismissed them in its ruling. The court noted that while the federal govern- ment's ability to collect taxes was taken into consideration, the Supreme Court determined that the only way to levy taxes for federation-wide objectives was by or in accordance with an act of Majlis-s-Shoora (Parliament). FBR in particular and the government in general had been and were still grappling with the activities and segments of businesses that would otherwise fall within the scope of the sales tax regime in order to bring them into the tax net and reduce evasion. Talking to Business Recorder, Khyber Tobacco Company c.e.o. Samera Irfan stated that it is in the best interest of the tobacco industry for TTS to be properly implemented in the nation in order to prevent counterfeiting and federal excise duty (FED) avoidance. Khyber Tobacco is the first national tobacco company to integrate track & trace across its sales and production. However, Irfan pointed out that while TTS and FED are inevitable steps needed to increase tax collection from the tobacco sector, what is required is the implementation of these orders by the administrators in a true sense. Irfan also requested the government to strengthen border security measures to deter the smuggling of cigarettes that have not been duty-paid, particularly near the border with Azad Jammu Kashmir, which is the most well-known location for such activity.

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