Minister Narayan Chandra lobbies for bidi companies, urges finance minister to cut taxes

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Narayan Chandra Chanda has urged Finance Minister AM Abdul Muhith to consider the appeal of bidi company owners not to increase the tax on bidi.

In a letter, considered an “unethical” move to prevent tax hike, Chanda said the Bangladesh Bidi Shilpa Malik Samity has already placed their proposals on budget to the finance minister.

bdnews24.com obtained a copy of the letter dated May 18. The minister, in Singapore now, was not available for comment.

A spokesperson of anti-tobacco group Progga told bdnews24.com that the letter was “completely unethical” and “unacceptable”.

“This is contrary to the prime minister’s announced policy of eradicating the use of tobacco from Bangladesh. Taxation is one of the two key policies to deter smokers. The other is enforcing strict law,” the Progga spokesperson said.

Bidis are hand-rolled cigarettes made locally. Bangladesh parliamentarians have been known to lobby for their manufacturers.

Before every budget, the bidi factory owners’ body collects letters from MPs and places them before the National Board of Revenue in a bid to prevent tax hike.

Bidi makers argue that they employ millions of people, mostly women, and higher taxes could lead to job cuts.

But studies suggest otherwise. Anti-tobacco groups using journalists conducted a study in 2012 that found only about 65,000 workers were working in 117 bidi factories.

Most workers said they want to quit as they are poorly paid and suffer from diseases associated with inhalation of tobacco and unhygienic factory environment.

According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, bidi rolling is the lowest paid job in the country.

Chanda in his letter also referred to his predecessor Md Abdul Hai MP’s demi-official letter to the finance minister on May 14, 2013 arguing in favour of bidi companies.

Bangladesh is one the leading tobacco-producing nations and the prices here are said to be the cheapest in the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised that raising taxes on tobacco products is the most effective measure for reducing consumption and prevalence of tobacco products.

But a global study shows that tobacco products have become “highly affordable” in Bangladesh due to a “weak” taxation system.

The government has different tax slabs for cigarettes and bidis, which anti-tobacco groups say can make smokers switch between products rather than quit.

According to the WHO’s convention on tobacco, FCTC, the government cannot discuss on any tobacco control issues with the industries. Only the relevant authorities can discuss taxation issue, but, according to the FCTC, the meeting must be held in an open and transparent manner.

Estimates suggest that 95,000 people die of tobacco-related illnesses every year in Bangladesh, a country where nearly 45 per cent of the population aged 15 and above consume tobacco in some form.