Shawdesh Desk;

With a view to reducing the use of tobacco products and increase revenue collection targeting the habit-forming good, cigarette prices are set to go up again.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget speech on Thursday proposed to fix the price of lower slab of cigarette per 10 sticks to Tk 39 and above, while adjusting its supplementary duty to 57 percent.

For medium slab cigarette per 10 sticks, the price has been proposed at Tk 63 and above, and for the high slab of 10 cigarette sticks, the price is set at Tk102 and above.

For premium cigarettes, Tk135 and above has been recommended.

The supplementary duty for these three slabs will be 65 percent.

The finance minister further proposed continuing the existing price of non-filtered 25-stick handmade bidi at Tk18, 12-stick bidi at Tk9 and 8-stick bidi at Tk. 6, where supplementary duty will be 30 percent for all.

He also recommended no changes to filtered 20-stick bidi, remaining at Tk19 and 10-stick bidi at Tk10, where supplementary duty will remain unchanged at 40 percent for both.

Jarda will also see no change in price, continuing to be sold at the existing price of Tk40 per 10gm. For Gul, it will be Tk20 per 10gm. Supplementary duty will be 55 percent for both.