The parliamentary economic committee has decided to summon the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the Maldives Customs Services a well as the Tobacco Control Board for review of the government proposed bill seeking a significant increase in excise duty on energy drinks and cigarettes.
The committee members including opposition lawmakers unanimously agreed to obtain the view of the three state institutes as it reviews the proposed amendment to the Import export law which had been accepted by the parliament the day before.
Four institutes were originally proposed by a main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) lawmaker, however the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives proposed to bring in only three institutes, excluding the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) which was on the list proposed by MDP.
After all members in the committee agreed unanimously on the second proposal, the committee head decided to summon the three institutes to the next sit-down.
Government had proposed to raise excise duty on each cigarette by MVR1.75 which would likely elevate the price of a pack from the current MVR47 to over MVR50.
Government hopes the duty hike on cigarettes would yield a revenue of an estimated MVR200 million next year.
In addition, the 20 percent excise duty increase on fizzy drinks would boost government revenue by MVR9 billion.
The government lawmaker who submitted the bill to Parliament stated that this was part of an effort by the government to discourage people from substances that were harmful to their health.
While all lawmakers generally agreed to raising of the duty on the products, some opposition MPs questioned the real motive of the government behind this sudden hike in duties.
Opposition lawmakers alleged that the duty hike was a ploy designed to boost government revenue rather than public health.
