NGO for equal tax on bidis and cigarettes

Amritsar, May 21

As the GST rates for bidis are yet to be finalised, the Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV), an anti-tobacco campaign, has demanded from the government that it should be taxed on par with cigarettes.

The government has kept cigarettes in the 28 per cent tax slab. Members of the VoTV fear that due to pressure from the bidi lobby, the government may keep it in the 18 per cent tax category. “Earlier too in Punjab, the tax on cigarettes was 33 per cent while it was merely 13 per cent on bidis. The bidis and cigarettes are equally harmful and should be taxed equally,” said renowned cancer surgeon and state patron of VoTV, Dr Prahlad Duggal.

He said the sale of bidis in the country was eight times more than the cigarettes. “While more number of people fall prey to harms of tobacco due to bidis, it is a known fact that bidi smokers don’’t have much means to acquire treatment in case of a health issue,” he said.

The VoTV members stated that increased tax on tobacco products can help in reducing its consumption and help save many lives. The VoTV members stated that in the past the governments had been leveling low taxes on bidis on the pretext that the livelihood of bidi workers would be harmed. — TNS