New Delhi, January 2 (IANS). The Federation of All India Farmers Unions (FAIFA) has appealed to the government to withdraw the heavy taxes imposed on tobacco products and reform them. FAIFA says that the tax should be kept in such a way that it does not affect the government’s income and does not increase smuggling (illegal selling) and also does not cause loss to the farmers.
FAIFA said in a statement on Friday that if the tax policy remains stable and balanced, it will maintain the income of farmers, secure employment and in the long run, goals related to people’s health can also be achieved.
The Finance Ministry has issued a notification and imposed new excise duty on some tobacco related products from February 1. Under this, tax on 1,000 cigarettes will range from Rs 2,050 to Rs 8,500 depending on the length of the cigarette.
FAIFA says that due to such high tax, companies will have to increase the price of their products. This will reduce sales and ultimately reduce tobacco purchases from farmers. Due to this, there will be more tobacco in the market and farmers may suffer losses.
FAIFA President Murali Babu said that while announcing GST 2.0, the government had assured that the total tax on tobacco will remain the same and GST will be levied only at 40 percent of the retail price.
He said that the farmers had believed in this assurance of the government and also welcomed the change in the GST rules, because it had reduced the prices of some things.
Appealing to the government, FAIFA leaders said that as per the law in India, cigarettes are already very expensive, especially considering the income of the people. This has also been revealed in the report of the World Health Organization (WHO).
If the tax is increased further, people will leave genuine products and start buying illegal goods. Neither the government will get tax from this nor the farmers will benefit.
FAIFA appealed to the government that the tax policy should be such that law-abiding farmers and industries are not punished.
–IANS
DBP/ABM
