Today, a significant research study has revealed widespread violations of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) by cigarette companies in Bangladesh. However, In 2022, I first reported on this practice in a story aired on Ekattor Television, produced in collaboration with the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP). That story played a significant role in raising public attention and policy discussion, and eventually the National Board of Revenue (NBR) made the printing of MRP on cigarette packs mandatory.
At that time, our investigation found that cigarette companies were charging consumers around BDT 70 billion extra each year by selling cigarettes above the printed MRP. Despite this additional money being collected from consumers, the government does not receive any share of it. If taxes were properly collected on the actual retail selling price, the government could receive more than BDT 50 billion in additional revenue every year.
Today, I am happy to share the findings of this year’s research, which further confirms the scale of this issue.
Although most products in Bangladesh are sold at their Maximum Retail Price (MRP), cigarette and bidi manufacturers are not following this rule. Cigarette companies are selling cigarettes to retailers at the listed retail price, but retailers are then selling them to consumers at higher prices than the printed MRP. Across the market, cigarettes are frequently sold at prices significantly higher than what is stated on the packet.
If taxes were collected based on the actual selling price, the government could have earned BDT 51.82 billion in additional revenue in the current fiscal year. This suggests that tobacco companies have been evading large amounts of tax revenue for years through pricing practices in tobacco product sales.
The event was jointly organized by the Bureau of Economic Research (BER), University of Dhaka, and the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP).
These findings were presented in a research study titled “Company Strategies in Controlling the Cigarette Market and Its Impact on Revenue Collection: A Study.” The results were unveiled on Thursday, 5 March 2026, at 10:30 AM at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity during a discussion meeting titled “Measures to Prevent Price Manipulation and Tax Evasion by Tobacco Companies.”
Key Findings of the Research
The main paper was presented by Ishrat Jahan Oishi, Research Assistant at BNTTP. According to the field data:
Research Methodology
Data were collected from 12 cities across four divisions—Dhaka, Barishal, Khulna, and Mymensingh. This included the divisional cities and two additional district towns from each division.
Researchers gathered information from 48 retail outlets (four per city), located in places defined as public places under the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act.
Recommendations from the Study
The study proposed several policy measures:
Expert Speakers
The event featured expert discussions by:
The session was chaired by Dr. Syed Mahfuzul Haque, National Professional Officer of the World Health Organization, and the welcome speech was delivered by Hamidul Islam, Project Manager of BNTTP.
Key Points from the Discussion
Experts noted that the tax revenue lost due to cigarette price manipulation is equivalent to the annual budget of five medical universities, including Bangladesh Medical University. They argued that the lost revenue could potentially fund free heart disease treatment nationwide.
They also emphasized that selling cigarettes above MRP does not only harm the economy but also encourages youth smoking, largely due to the widespread sale of single cigarette sticks. Despite repeated demands to ban single-stick sales, the government has not yet implemented such a ban.
Experts further warned that single-stick sales prevent smokers from seeing health warning labels on cigarette packets, reducing public awareness of smoking risks.
The discussion was attended by representatives of various anti-tobacco organizations and journalists, who also participated in a question-and-answer session regarding the research findings.
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