From: Pakistan Observer
Zeeshan Javaid
Islamabad—The Finance Division has gone into hot waters about setting the revenue targets for upcoming financial year 2015-16, as Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) is set to implement a controversial regulation on Graphic Health Warning (GHW) brushing aside concerns regarding revenue generation.
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Experts told Pakistan Observer that it is evident from Pine’s experience of Pakistan that shifting from 40 percent to 85 percent pictorial warning will increase illegal supply of cigarettes. The increase in smuggling would force the said agencies including customs intelligence of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to remain extra vigilant at borders.
The main source of tobacco smuggling in Pakistan is the Afghanistan Transit Trade route. The federal government prohibited the imports of tobacco transit trade to Afghanistan in 1992 but there is no evidence of the effective implementation of the law.
