The government plans to increase cigarette and vape prices in order to reduce tobacco product consumption and maximize revenue collection from this sector.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal read out the proposals for the 2023-2024 fiscal year in parliament on Thursday.
The finance minister set a target of collecting an additional Tk6,000 crore in revenue by increasing taxes on these products.
But the prices of bidi will likely remain as they are.
The minimum price of 10 sticks of low-tier cigarettes will be Tk45 (a Tk5 increase from the previous fiscal year), with a supplementary duty of 1%, according to the minister's proposals.
The minimum price of mid-tier cigarettes (10 sticks) will be Tk67 (a Tk2 hike), high-tier cigarettes Tk113 (a Tk2 hike) and premium-tier cigarettes Tk150 (a Tk8 increase).
The minister also proposed to levy a 150% additional duty on products such as liquid nicotine, transdermal nicotine, etc. The price of electronic cigarettes and similar electric vaporizer devices may increase as a result.
