Kerala traders stub cigarettes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Come April 16, cigarettes will be off shelves in Kerala, a state which continues to puff away despite a ban on smoking in public places. This time, traders have decided to boycott cigarette manufacturers for their refusal to bear the brunt of Value Added Tax.

A meeting of the trader body  Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi in Kozhikode, decided to impose a sanction on those companies which pass on the tax burden to traders. “The state has imposed 12.5 per cent tax on cigarettes from April 1. Manufacturers are required to include all tax in the maximum retail price, but companies refuse to abide by it,” Samithi chief T Nasirudeen said.

“We have decided not to sell cigarettes from April 16 until the companies agree to shoulder the new tax as required. At present, a trader who buys cigarettes for Rs 700-800, can’t even make a Rs 2 profit,” he added.