Tobacco farmers' body urges govt for 'pragmatic' approach on cigarette taxation

Tobacco farmers' body FAIFA on Thursday said the hike in taxes on cigarettes announced in the Budget 2020-21 will only increase the smuggled cigarette trade which, in turn, will affect livelihoods of millions of tobacco growers and farm workers.

The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) said it had also appealed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman to have a "pragmatic approach" on cigarette taxation at a meeting on Wednesday evening.

The hike in national calamity contingent duty (NCCD) on cigarettes proposed in the Budget is a major setback to the FCV tobacco farmers who have been fighting torrential and unseasonal rainfall this year in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, FAIFA said in a statement.

"Indiscriminate increase of excise duty on cigarettes will result in reduction in legal cigarette production and this will reduce the tobacco purchases of domestic manufacturers, impacting market prices for farmers thereby putting more pressure on farmer's earnings and causing further stress," it said.

Commenting on the hike in NCCD on cigarettes, FAIFA President Javare Gowda said, "This tax increase will provide a further boost to the smuggled cigarette trade and (lead to) decline in domestic demand, resulting in weak demand in the ensuing auctions."