5 months ago
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The members of Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) took retired a rally to protestation against the projected taxation hike connected baccy products, successful Ongole connected Saturday. They besides met Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy to taxable a practice demanding the Central authorities to rotation backmost the precocious announced summation successful taxes connected baccy goods.
The FAIFA is simply a non-profit organisation representing the origin of farmers and farmworkers of commercialized crops crossed assorted States including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat. It opposed the Ministry of Finance notification that imposed an excise work of ₹2,050-8,500 per 1,000 sticks, depending connected cigaret length, effectual from 1 February, 2026.
The FAIFA members expressed interest that specified a steep hike successful taxes would marque home manufacturers to rise prices of finished goods, which volition pb to a driblet successful sales, hurting farmers’ supplies successful return, and causing a glut successful the baccy harvest marketplace successful the adjacent term.
Speaking to The Hindu, FAIFA president Murali Babu said, “Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) baccy growers from A.P. and Karnataka are already suffering owed to the precocious taxation complaint connected cigarettes (using FCV tobacco), which connected a kilogram ground is implicit 50 times higher than bidis and implicit 30 times higher than chewing tobacco.”
“While FCV baccy attracts much than ₹6 successful taxation per dose successful the finished product, different baccy forms utilized successful bidis and chewing products are taxed astatine little than 1 paisa per dose. Such utmost disparity punishes the astir regulated and compliant farmers. The existent steep excise hike volition further crush the FCV growers and distort the full baccy economy,” helium said.
“While announcing GST 2.0 connected 4 September 2025, the authorities had assured that successful the lawsuit of baccy products, GST would beryllium charged astatine 40% of the retail income price, portion the wide incidence of taxation would beryllium kept unchanged. Instead a crisp summation successful taxes has been notified, astatine the outgo of farmers’ livelihoods,” Mr. Murali said.
The FAIFA has urged the authorities to roll-back the notified excise rates and revise them to revenue-neutral rates, to disincentivise smuggling, and enactment home agriculture. A unchangeable taxation model is indispensable to prolong husbandman incomes, support employment crossed the worth chain, and align economical argumentation with semipermanent nationalist wellness goals, helium added.
