Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) has appealed to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to treat tobacco crop like any other agricultural produce and not put additional burden of taxes on legally manufactured products in India.
The irrational taxes on tobacco are causing adverse impact on tobacco farmers, said FAIFA. It said that the farming community is very concerned with the unabashed push by vested NGOs whose agenda is to push for Growth of international tobacco through smuggled cigarettes. FAIFA submitted a detailed representation to the finance minister as part of pre-budget consultations.