Shillong, Dec 10: To discourage Tobacco consumption in the state, the cabinet has decided to hike tax on tobacco and tobacco products from 13.5 percent to 20 percent.
Talking to media person, Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma said, ”the cabinet has decided to enhance the rate of tax on tobacco and tobacco products in the state because tobacco is responsible for many diseases and many lives have been lost.”
Dr. sangma said, “There has been number of campaign to prevail upon people to give up smoking and consuming tobacco product, we have embarked upon certain strategies to discourage people to consume tobacco and tobacco products.”
This initiative will help to raise an additional revenue of about Rs 85 crore, the tax on tobacco products ranges from 30-60 percent.
The hike would help the government exchequer to generate additional income of about Rs 15 crore per year. The total revenue from tobacco and tobacco products export fees on all these items is about Rs 60 – 70 crore a year, Sangma informed.
Stating that there are many mouth freshners which is not considered as tobacco products, he said that there should be a clarity for the law enforcing agencies to draw a line as which products falls under the category of tobacco.
“The cabinet has instructed that there should be complete clarity so that the enforcing agencies will know how to draw the line between various other products which are also somehow misconstrued misinterpreted as tobacco products,” Sangma said
Reacting to a query if the Government contemplates to ban tobacco products in the state, Dr Mukul Sangma said Government is examining the matter of banning tobacco.
The state government has also ruled out blanket ban on tobacco and tobacco products at the moment as the state health department is examining on presentations made before the department on classification of different tobacco and non-tobacco products. (SP News)
