The Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) has welcomed the government's decision to increase VAT on tobacco products.
In a press release sent to the media on Friday, the organization expressed this view.
In the middle of the current fiscal year (2024-25), the government has raised VAT and supplementary duties on over a hundred goods and services.
However, the increase in both price and tax rates on all four tiers of cigarettes is seen as a highly positive and groundbreaking decision for public health by the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP).
On Thursday night, the National Board of Revenue issued two ordinances related to the increase of VAT and supplementary duties on over a hundred goods and services, making these changes immediately effective.
The new ordinances are the VAT and Supplementary Duty (Amendment) Ordinance-2025 and the Excise and Salt (Amendment) Ordinance-2025.
According to the BNTTP's press release, tobacco control experts have long demanded increasing the price and tax rates of tobacco products in line with inflation, but this had not been done, resulting in widespread harm to public health.
The interim government has addressed this issue, and the increase in prices and tax rates across all levels of cigarettes has taken inflation into account.
This decision will make a positive and effective contribution to public health protection.
The new ordinances have increased the price of 10-stick low-tier cigarettes by just Tk10, raising it to Tk60.
At the same time, the tax rate for this tier has been increased from 60% to 67%.
This is seen as a historic decision for public health protection in Bangladesh because over 70% of the country's cigarette consumers use low-tier cigarettes.
In addition, the price of 10-stick medium-tier cigarettes has been increased by Tk10 to Tk80, high-tier cigarettes by Tk20 to Tk140, and ultra-high-tier cigarettes by Tk25 to Tk185.
The tax rate for these three tiers has also been raised from 65.5% to 67%.
