ISLAMABAD: The Senate Sub-committee on National Health Services (NHS) has suggested that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) introduce electronic tax numbers on cigarette packets and monitor Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) plants, to stop the counterfeit production and smuggling of cigarettes.

A subcommittee meeting chaired Senator Nauman Wazir also directed tobacco companies to give suggestions to finalise the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health (Amendment) Bill 2016.

The bill, which was tabled by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed from the PML-Q, focuses mainly on banning tobacco advertisements, even within shops of tobacco retailers. The bill also prohibits tobacco companies from sponsoring events – such as health camps, plantation campaigns and sports events – as part of their corporate social responsibility.

However, the last few meetings have focused on counterfeit cigarette production and smuggling.

The head of The Network for Consumer Protection, Nadeem Iqbal, who assisted in drafting the bill expressed concerns on Wednesday that the debate had been diverted toward matters unrelated to the bill itself.

“The bill is about the protection of non-smokers, but the discussion has been diverted towards other issues that do not affect non-smokers. The fact is that children are attracted to these advertisements, and the tobacco industry uses different tactics to attract non-smokers to increase consumers,” he said.

Senator Wazir suggested that civil society should also work to eradicate cigarette smuggling, as it affects the economy.

During the last meeting, the subcommittee had also directed the FBR to brief them on how cigarette smuggling could be ended. On Wednesday, a representative from FBR Inland Revenue, Zafar Iqbal, said there was a severe shortage of resources which made it difficult to completely end the smuggling of cigarettes.

Mr Iqbal said Rs130 million worth of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes were confiscated last year, and Rs2.2 million worth of cigarettes were confiscated during the first three months of the current fiscal year. “However, we have severe shortage of resources, human resources and weapons,” he said.

Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTC) Chairman Dr Ikram Ghani also said it was not easy to stop the production of counterfeit cigarettes and smuggling through monitoring.

“I suggest that all tobacco has to pass through GLT plants so a mechanism should be made to monitor the quality of tobacco that passes from GLT plants. Producers and dealers do not reveal the exact quantity of tobacco because they do not want to be documented. Even tobacco companies do not provide the data of people from whom they buy tobacco,” he said.

“There are just 10 GLT plants, so representatives from the FBR, PTB and provincial governments should monitor them to [determine] the exact amount of tobacco produced in the country,” he said.

High quality tobacco is processed at GLT plants.

Mr Ghani claimed that he was reviewing PTB’s laws because the existing laws cannot be implemented fully.

The subcommittee suggested monitoring GLT plants and the introduction of electronic tax numbers on cigarette packets, citing the ‘track and trace’ mechanism suggested by the World Bank, according to which this is the appropriate way to ensure only tax-paid cigarettes are sold.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2016