Opposition in RS calls for govt initiative to check tobacco use
GST
Dated:- 4-12-2025
PTI
New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) Several opposition MPs on Thursday expressed concern in the Rajya Sabha that the government is focusing on increasing revenue from tobacco, rather than initiating strong public health measures to control its use.
Participating in a discussion on a bill seeking to levy more excise duty on tobacco products, members also asked the government to put a check on surrogate advertisements on tobacco products.
The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, was moved in the Upper House on Thursday by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary.
Speaking on the Bill, Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the bill should have been sent to a Parliamentary panel for scrutiny.
Tiwari said the bill is silent on tobacco farmers and labourers who work in the sector.
He said the money earned through levying excise dut
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teps to control pan masala and tobacco advertisements that are being done by celebrities and influencers across the media. What is the government doing to control these kinds of advertising?” she questioned.
She said global best practices show that tobacco taxes are most effective only when paired with strong public health interventions.
“Therefore, this bill is a pure and simple revenue move. It is not a public health reform. This is a revenue move to profiteer from taxes. It is not a public health reform,” she added.
Ghose also said the Centre owed West Bengal around Rs 2 lakh crore.
Noting that tobacco addiction is a major problem faced by the country, DMK MP R Girirajan said instead of taking steps to reduce its consumption, the government is imposing taxes.
“It will only lead to more avoidance of tax as opposed to revenue collection. The middle class, all over the country, is very unhappy that they are paying the majority of taxes, and that they are not getting any tax deduct
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ear,” he added.
There is a massive revenue loss due to tobacco-related health issues, he added.
“The question arises if it can be totally banned…The liquor ban in Gujarat has totally failed; it is delivered at home. Same with Bihar… No matter if your intentions are good… You have to see whether it works or not,” he said.
“Your intention is not clear; it looks like you are doing this just for revenue generation.” BJP MP Arun Singh said that under the NDA regime, the share of taxes given to states has increased.
“During the UPA, 32 per cent of the taxes were given to states…Our government decided to give 42 per cent to states,” he added.
He said that as far as health is concerned, the BJP government “does not need to learn from UPA”, and mentioned government schemes like Ayushman Bharat.
“Congress never thought people should get clean water.” The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill will replace the GST compensation cess, which is currently levied on all tobacco products like
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