Staring at a loss of crop worth of Rs 3000 crores after bidi, cigarette, gutkha producers stopped production under new norms; the apex industry bodies representing close to 4.5 lakh Gujarat’s tobacco farmer and 1.5 lakh Gujarat micro retailers selling tobacco products, came together on Friday to demand the roll back of the 85 per cent of mandatory pictorial warning rule on tobacco products.
Tobacco farmers in state claim to be staring at Rs 3000 crore of unsold crops lying at home which are in danger of being destroyed by the ensuing monsoons in Gujarat.
Recalling PM Modi rolling back the 12.5 per cent VAT on raw tobacco in 2007 during his stint as CM, officials from the Gujarat Tobacco Merchants Association and Ahmedabad & Vadodara Paan Bidi Vikreta Association appealed to PM Modi to take a moderate and balanced stand on the issue by quashing the 85 per cent warning rule on all tobacco products levied by the Central government since April 1.
“Around 8 years back, when Narendra Modi was CM, he had waived a VAT on raw tobacco after he heard our appeal and understood plight of tobacco farmers here. Read More>
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