Pakistan Tax Hike Shrinks Local Philip Morris Sales by 70%

Philip Morris in Pakistan faced 60% decline in its production after government hiked tax on cigarettes by 200% in February, the company’s statement cited its country’s Chief Financial Officer, Muhammad Zeeshan, as saying.

• He sought a review of the increase as it encouraged the existing illicit cigarette market to grow
• Low sales hampered company’s tax volume by 16.4% to 5.9 billion rupees during the quarter ended March 31 compare to same period last year
• The government unlikely to achieve by end of June 260 billion rupees revenue target from tobacco industry: Zeeshan
• Track & trace system is must to keep ...