Cigarette price to go up

The government plans to push the price of cigarettes up in a bid to reduce the consumption of tobacco products and maximise revenue collection from this sector.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made the announcement while reading out the budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year on Thursday.

As per the minister's proposal, the minimum price for 10 sticks of low-tier cigarettes will be set at Tk40 (Tk1 increase from previous fiscal), with a supplementary duty of 57%.

Meanwhile, the minimum price of mid-tier cigarettes will be set at Tk65 (Tk2 hike), high-tier cigarettes at Tk111 (Tk9 hike), and premium tier cigarettes at Tk142 (Tk7 hike), with a supplementary duty of 65% for these tiers.  

However, the government has decided to keep the existing prices of bidi unchanged.

Currently, the minimum price of 25-stick handmade bidi is Tk18, 12-stick bidi cost Tk9 and 8-stick bidi Tk6 – with a supplementary duty of 30% for all three.

The price of filter-tipped bidi is Tk19 for 20 sticks and Tk10 for 10 sticks, with a supplementary duty of 40% for both.

Also, the prices of Jarda – Tk40 for 10gm, and Gul, Tk20 for 10gm – are to remain the same with a supplementary duty of 55% for both.