The director of the Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) projected that the cigarette sector might generate Rs570 billion in tax revenue per year.
PTC disclosed at a pre-budget media briefing that the cigarette industry in Pakistan faces an estimated Rs325 billion in tax evasion each year.
The illegal cigarette trade has surpassed the legitimate market and currently has up to 58% of the market share, according to Asad Shah, the PTC director of legal and external relations.
He went on to say that Pakistan produces over 82 billion sticks of cigarettes annually. Of these, only 34 billion sticks had taxes collected; the other 46 billion are not subject to taxes.
