On Tuesday, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) directed the provincial government to respond to a writ petition filed by cigarette-manufacturing companies contesting the provincial excise duty on tobacco
A two-member bench, including Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Fazal Subhan, heard the petition. Representing the Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris International Tobacco Company were Barrister Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Shahab Hussain Advocate, respectively.
Barrister Ibrahim argued that the provincial government had imposed an excise duty of Rs50 per kg on raw tobacco in the provincial budget for the financial year 2024-25. He pointed out that the federal government already collects Rs390 per kg as federal excise duty. He asserted that this provincial tax is unprecedented in other provinces and violates Article 142 of the Constitution, which stipulates that if a tax is levied by the federal government, provincial governments cannot impose a similar tax. The petitioners, he said, are therefore burdened with paying both federal and provincial taxes.
