Islamabad: The tobacco business has seen a growth in illegal trading in recent months, particularly since a major excise increase in February 2023.
Fueled by the excise hike, industry insiders have disclosed a disturbing trend of widespread availability of counterfeit cigarettes in the market, complete with false stamps.
This calls into question the Track & Trace System’s efficacy, both in terms of implementation and enforcement.
According to industry estimates, roughly 850 million counterfeit cigarette sticks are presently being sold, equivalent to 42.5 million packs with bogus stamps, resulting in a significant loss of approximately PKR 5.7 billion in customs and taxes to the national exchequer.
