Chairman of the Fair Trade in Tobacco (FTT), Ameen Virk, while speaking to senior journalists in Islamabad, welcomed the Government of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for their consistent and determined enforcement efforts against illegal tobacco trade and tax evasion in the country. He termed these efforts “essential and long overdue” and underscored the need to continue this momentum without compromise.
“We appreciate the resolve shown by the FBR and federal authorities to act against the illegal cigarette trade and bring tax evaders to justice,” Virk said. “This is not a peripheral issue. Pakistan is estimated to be losing nearly Rs. 400 billion annually because of illegal cigarette manufacturing and unchecked tax evasion. This loss scale is unsustainable for a country already under fiscal stress.”
Ameen Virk stressed that effective enforcement across the tobacco supply chain is essential to protecting Pakistan’s economic interests and ensuring unregulated competitors do not crowd out legitimate, tax-paying businesses.
However, he also expressed grave concern over what he called the “seasonal reappearance of health advocacy groups,” which begin lobbying for tax increases on legal tobacco products only weeks before the annual federal budget while remaining silent on tax theft and illegal trade throughout the rest of the year.
“These so-called health activists, many of whom operate with foreign funding, are largely absent from public dialogue for most of the year,” he noted. “But as the federal budget approaches, their campaigns intensify, almost as if following instructions from their foreign donors. This troubling pattern questions their objectivity and alignment with Pakistan’s broader economic interests.”
He added that fiscal policymaking is a sovereign function and must remain the domain of trained economists, national institutions, and the FBR.
“It is neither the role of NGOs nor INGOs to dictate tax policy. Taxation must be grounded in sound economic principles, not externally funded agendas,” Virk remarked. “Public health is important, but it should not be used to justify ill-considered tax decisions that ultimately empower criminal networks and weaken national revenue.”
Citing examples from countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, he warned that aggressive tax hikes on legal tobacco products have led to the creation of massive black markets, some valued at tens of billions of dollars. “Global experience shows us that excessive taxation reduces compliance and encourages smuggling. With its current fiscal vulnerabilities and enforcement limitations, Pakistan cannot afford to replicate that mistake,” he cautioned. “Legal tobacco companies are already under pressure, and further tax hikes will only erode their capacity to contribute revenue.”
Ameen Virk reiterated Fair Trade in Tobacco’s support for the government’s efforts to formalize the economy and eliminate illegal practices. He emphasized that law-abiding farmers, manufacturers, and retailers stand ready to cooperate fully with enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities.
“Pakistan’s future lies in strengthening formal markets and penalizing illegal operators, not in targeting those who already carry the sector’s tax burden,” he said.