DHAKA: Price of cigarettes and other tobacco items was proposed to increase at the national budget placed for financial year 2019-20.
As per the proposal, minimum price of per stick cigarette will be Tk 12.30 and minimum Tk 3.70.
In his budget speech, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed to increase tax on the tobacco items including cigarettes.
Three factors were taken into consideration to increase the price of tobacco products. These are--adjusting state policy with the global anti-smoking campaign, discouraging tobacco use due to health risks and increasing tax income.
Supplementary duty will be collected 55 percent from a bundle of 10 cigarettes of minimum Tk 37 price.
The duty will be 65 percent from 10 cigarettes of Tk 63, Tk 93 and 123 prices.
However, AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the budget of Tk 5,23,190 crore at the Jatiya Sangsad Thursday (June 13) afternoon.
This is the country’s 48th budget and the 20th of the Awami League (AL) government in five terms while Tajuddin Ahmed presented the first budget as the finance minister of the post-independence Bangabandhu government in 1972.
Kamal placed the budget as the country’s 12th finance minister after taking the charge of the finance ministry in the third consecutive term of AL government.
Size of the budget is equivalent to 18.1 percent of total GDP.
BDST: 1912 HRS, JUN 13, 2019
SI/SMS