Aurangzeb says Pakistan seizes record illicit cigarettes in enforcement drive

Pakistan has recorded record seizures of illicit cigarettes during the current year as authorities intensify enforcement against illegal manufacturing and smuggling, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday.

He said fiscal sustainability depended on equitable taxation, stronger compliance, and decisive action to curb leakages and illicit economic activity, adding that the government’s structural reform agenda aimed to break Pakistan’s historical boom-and-bust economic cycles through fiscal discipline and tax base expansion.

Aurangzeb said the government’s tax transformation programme, anchored in reforms to people, processes, and technology, had strengthened enforcement through AI-led customer relationship management systems, AI-based production monitoring, and track-and-trace initiatives. He added that enhanced enforcement in sectors including sugar, cement, tobacco, textiles, and beverages had produced measurable improvements in compliance and revenue collection.

According to a Finance Division statement, coordinated operations involving customs, inland revenue, provincial authorities, and dedicated enforcement units had targeted illegal trade in both finished cigarettes and raw materials.

The remarks were made during a meeting with a delegation of British American Tobacco led by Regional Director Pascale Meulemeester, along with senior executives from BAT and Pakistan Tobacco Company.

The delegation said policy predictability and a stable excise regime would support formal sector growth, strengthen revenue generation, and enable long-term investment planning, while highlighting export opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other markets and the need for competitive crop pricing and regulatory alignment.

Aurangzeb said sectoral reviews were under way to address policy anomalies while aligning measures with broader fiscal objectives, reiterating that revenue mobilisation remained critical for fiscal stability, but the government remained open to constructive engagement to ensure sustainable policies.