Pakistan's Tobacco Industry Struggling

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 12/22/2008

Dec 19, 2008-Pakistan's tobacco industry is struggling to survive with the perennial problem of the illicit cigarette trade now set against a background of economic woes, according to a report in The Nation. Quoting 'recent data available on the cigarette industry', the report added that the annual revenue loss to the federal government through cigarette smuggling, counterfeiting and tax evasion now exceeded Rs7.4 billion. The losses were put down mainly to the weak implementation of taxation laws, loopholes in anti-smuggling strategies at the national borders and a lack of effective mechanisms to combat counterfeit production. Enditem