PESHAWAR,  June 10:  The Tobacco Dealers Association,  Mardan has criticized the director-general of the excise & taxation department for what he called the illegal award of the contract for tobacco cess collection.

Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, president of the association, Yaqoob Khan said the government had imposed heavy taxes on them, but the growers were not getting proper return. According to him, the provincial government had constituted a committee to resolve the issues related to tobacco cess.

He said on June 7, the DG excise and taxation department awarded the contract of tobacco cess collection to some favourite people without waiting for the decision of the committee formed to look into the matter.

Mr Khan said tobacco, being the cash crop of NWFP, was the  source of employment for local people, but the government instead of facilitating them had been taking steps to  fleece them by imposing heavy taxes on them.

The province paid Rs 22 billion each year to the federal government in the head of central excise duty on tobacco, he claimed.

He said in addition to the central excise duty, the provincial government was also charging the growers and dealers Rs two per kg as tobacco development cess, which was being received from the dealers  on the transportation of tobacco from one district to another.

Mr Khan added that the imposition of tobacco development cess was unjustified because the farmers, agents and dealers were required to pay the levy to the government at the time when they transported the produce to markets in  other districts. They were also required to pay the tax, if the product remained unsold and was transported back to the district from where it had been transported.

He termed the government’s policy of cess collection on tobacco as illegal, saying that there was no such tax in other provinces. He suggested that like the past the tax should be collected from the cigarette manufacturers.

Mr Khan asked the government to cancel the contract awarded by the excise and taxation department and take into confidence the dealers and farmers while imposing any tax.