Islamabad, November 15, 2024 – Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Ali Pervaiz Malik, has emphasized the need to alleviate the tax burden on salaried individuals by curbing widespread tax evasion in the tobacco industry. Addressing a roundtable on Thursday, he expressed the government’s commitment to reducing income tax for the salaried class, contingent upon the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recovering an estimated Rs 300-350 billion lost to non-duty-paid and smuggled cigarettes. The roundtable discussion, hosted by the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) in collaboration with PILDAT, brought together government officials, industry leaders, policy experts, and media representatives. The event focused on the FBR’s Track and Trace System (TTS) compliance, a regulatory initiative designed to curb tax evasion across multiple sectors, including tobacco. In his keynote address, Malik reiterated the government’s dedication to ensuring economic stability through collaboration among all sectors. He highlighted the pressing need for increased compliance within the tobacco industry, particularly regarding the TTS, which has been operational since 2021. Malik stressed the role of technology and digitalization in streamlining regulatory processes, urging stakeholders to work collectively toward achieving the system’s goals. The IPOR’s latest study on TTS compliance revealed troubling findings. Conducted across 11 cities in Punjab and Sindh, the research covered 720 retail outlets. Of the 264 cigarette brands surveyed, only 19 fully complied with TTS regulations. A staggering 58% of the market was dominated by non-compliant brands, comprising 65% locally manufactured duty-not-paid products and 35% smuggled goods. Non-compliance extended beyond missing TTS stamps to violations of minimum…