Late on Tuesday night, the government began enacting the mini-budget by increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 150 percent starting on February 14, 2023, and hiking the import sales tax rate from 17 to 18 percent.
The FBR released an SRO.178(I)/2023 in this regard on Tuesday night.
There would be an 18% sales tax applied to imports starting at midnight on Tuesday.
The notification states that under the first slab of cigarettes, locally made cigarettes would be subject to a federal excise charge of Rs. 16500 per thousand cigarettes if their on-pack printed retail price exceeded Rs. 9000 per 1000 cigarettes.
The statement said that under the second slab, the FED rate for domestically produced cigarettes would be Rs. 5050 per thousand cigarettes if their on-pack printed retail price did not exceed Rs. 9000 per thousand cigarettes.
After receiving cabinet approval, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is authorised by law to notify importers of changes to the duty structure.
