Sales are worth in Tobacco Industry with Cigarette and Alcohol fueling

1. CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL FUELING A 5 TRILLION DOLLAR ECONOMY These troubled times of COVID-19 have caused a degree of economic downturn previously unseen in independent India’s young history. A country like India, seen as one of the bright spots in an otherwise dull global financial ecosystem, is now fighting to reignite the dreams and aspirations of achieving a 5 trillion dollar economy. In the quest for making up on lost funds, the federal and state governments of India have opted to increase the colloquially-termed sin tax; a special cess levied on items deemed to be harmful or costly to society and the environment. Products such as tobacco, alcohol and petroleum have faced the brunt of the sin tax. Governments world over believe that such a tax would stop citizens from engaging in socially harmful activities and behaviour, and hence provide an incentive to be a model citizen! Since the lockdown began in the last week of March, at least 13 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and West Bengal, have increased the value added tax/sales tax on fuels, leading to increases ranging from Rs 1-6/litre for petrol and Rs 0.5-5/litre for diesel. According to the Reserve Bank of India, state excise duty on alcohol accounts for 10-15% of tax revenue for most states and is the second or third-biggest source of tax revenue. In the past week, several state governments in India have raised taxes on alcohol, ranging from 25% to 70% of MRP. In addition, tobacco is on the highest GST slab of 28%. In the case of COVID-19, the sin tax is an able weapon in fighting this invisible enemy. The funds gathered from the tax will go a long way in helping our economy get back on track, and also provide help in terms of procuring essential goods and services such as PPEs and ventilators. Economically-disadvantaged sections of society also benefit tremendously from the sin tax, keeping them afloat in such uncertain times.

2. Source:https://www.smokersforum.in/smokers-digest/detail/editorial/cigarettes-and-Source:https://www.smokersforum.in/smokers-digest/detail/editorial/cigarettes-and- alcohol-fueling-a-5-trillion-dollar-economy