Islamabad
The Federal Board of Revenue has cracked down on the illegal supply of counterfeit cigarettes that were produced in tax-free Azad Kashmir and supplied across Pakistan. In a press release issued on Thursday, the FBR said cigarettes produced in Mirpur were being smuggled into Punjab and the rest of Pakistan via the Jhelum route. This was being done to evade duties on their export outside the Azad Kashmir region. The press release said that since the crackdown on counterfeit cigarettes began in 2019, the amount of excise revenue collected on the production of cigarettes at the regional tax office in Peshawar has spiked by 95%. It said that the number of raids on counterfeit cigarette producers and interception of smuggling convoys has also increased.—INP
