Sale of ‘illegal cigarettes’ surging in India: Report

The high and discriminatory central and state taxes on cigarettes have negatively impacted their sales but have also resulted in India emerging as the fifth largest “illegal cigarette” market in the world. According to a report, the Tobacco Institute of India observed that the escalating excise duty burden on “legal cigarettes” has almost doubled in the last four years in addition to the high rates of value added tax (VAT) and other state level taxes. According to Euromonitor International, a renowned global research organization, India is now the fifth largest illegal cigarette market in the world which translates to a revenue loss of more than Rs.7,000 crore to the national exchequer. Illegal cigarettes are internationally smuggled and domestically manufactured tax evaded cigarettes.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/sale-of-illegal-cigarettes-surging-in-india-report-115052901400_1.html