ISLAMABAD: Civil society representatives on Thursday put their weight behind the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) decision and called for a judicial commission under the Supreme Court to gather data on tobacco cultivation, cigarette manufacturing, marketing, consumption in various age groups and tax collection to reach a fact-based decision on the way forward.

“So far we don’t have actual and authentic data on the consumption of cigarettes, due to which we either depend on estimated data or on data prepared by tobacco companies. The judicial commission should look into all those issues because only that is how the health of the youth can be ensured,” the national coordinator for the Coalition for Tobacco Control Pakistan, Khurram Hashmi, told Dawn.

“Moreover, it is a good thing that finally a debate has been started at esteemed institutions, such as parliament, that the tobacco industry has been playing with the health of Pakistan’s youth. I believe that now all the claims made by civil society against the tobacco industry will be validated,” he added.

On May 23, PAC had recommended that the SC lead an investigation to expose who have tobacco companies the benefit of Rs33 billion by changing the tax structure. The recommendation came on the basis of a special report by the Auditor General of Pakistan that highlighted the causes of decline in tax collection from the tobacco sector.

‘Judicial commission should gather data on tobacco cultivation, cigarette manufacturing, consumption’

Before the current fiscal year budget was announced, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) had suggested increasing the tax on cigarettes and recommended a minimum tax of Rs44 on a pack of 20 cigarettes.

However, the 2017-18 budget introduced a third tier of taxation, cutting taxes to Rs16 on a pack of 20.

This allowed the tobacco industry to reduce the prices of major brands and place them in the third tax tier, increasing the consumption of cigarettes while cutting taxes by almost 50pc.

PAC Chairman Khurshid Shah had said the report should be sent to the Senate to pursue the case, since the National Assembly’s tenure is nearing completion. He also alleged that benefits were given after taking benefits, and claimed he had a list of officers from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) who took benefits.

An FBR representative who attempted to put up a defence was not allowed to speak.

Mohammad Faisal, the head of the NGO Fikr-i-Farda, told Dawn that civil society was in complete support of Mr Shah’s directions and suggested that the SC look into the matter, claiming that the exchequer has faced losses in the tens of billions.

It also becomes a case for the National Accountability Bureau, because the government cannot issue any statutory regulatory order (SRO) that benefits the private sector and cases losses to the exchequer, he said.

“We suggest that tobacco taxation be brought back to the 2016-17 level by abolishing the third tier of tax, and the prices of cigarettes should be increased further.”

Network for Consumer Protection head Nadeem Iqbal said the initial findings of the auditor general’s report were quite understandable, and further investigation should be carried out by the appropriate forum.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2018