The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has set the minimum prices of one cigarette not lower than AED 0.4 (40 fils).
The pricing has been determined in Cabinet Decision No. (55) of 2019 on the Excise Price for Tobacco Products.
The decision indicates that the minimum standard price for a pack of 20 cigarettes has been set at AED 8.
As for the minimum price for waterpipe tobacco (known in Arabic as ‘Mu’assel’ was set at AED0.1 (10 fils) per gram.
For every 250 grams, the price for waterpipe tobacco and similar products is set at AED25 or AED100 per kilo. This pricing is applicable to all brands of cigarettes and locally traded tobacco products.
In a report by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), FTA stressed that enforcing a minimum Excise Price for cigarettes and other tobacco products will accomplish two objectives including the protection of consumers and the community from products that damage public health and the environment and prevent price manipulation for the purpose of tax evasion.
The order goes into effect starting December 1.
FTA then urged all businesses to comply with the minimum price and update it in the Authority’s system.
