Dhaka, June 2 -- Prices of cigarettes are expected to go up once again after the government announced a hike in the advance tax on sales and an increase in the supplementary duty on imported cigarette paper.

The measures were outlined in the proposed national budget for FY26, presented by Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday.

He said the advance tax collected from cigarette manufacturers on net sales value has been raised from 3 percent to 5 percent.

Salehuddin added that the supplementary duty on imported cigarette paper will be raised from 150 percent to 300 percent for commercial importers.

While these moves have been described as a "positive step" by some, tobacco control advocacy groups PROGGA: Knowledge for Progress and th...