The Cabinet has decided to re-impose the 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on cigarettes and to increase the existing manufacturing tax on any cigarette by Rs. 5/- on the recommendations of the ministerial committee to examine the joint proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena and Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Rajitha Senaratne on amendments to the taxes imposed on cigarettes and tobacco products.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also approved the increasing of the cess duty on imports of beedi leaves from the existing Rs. 2,000 per kilogram to Rs. 3,000 per kilogram and to minimise the usage of tobacco and tobacco products in the country through other means.