Cigarette prices to double from April

provided by the Royal Oman Police (ROP), limiting tax exemptions granted for companies and establishments, enhancing tax collection efficiency, and activating monitoring and follow-up measures, amending rules and regulations pertaining to exemptions of customs duties, implementing the revised tariffs for large consumers of electricity for commercial, industrial and government use, and amending the regulations of lands allocation such as lands of commercial, tourism, industrial and agricultural use.

Beside the measures to help non-oil sources of revenue, the government has been acting to cut excessive use of tobacco and other allied products in view of public health.

The Sultanate has imposed taxes and other measures such as banning smoking in public and near schools and other educational institutions and restricting the sale cigarettes to those below the age of 18.

A recent study conducted by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health on tobacco use among schoolchildren and students has proposed various measures to tackle the menace of smoking among the youth.

Accordingly, pictorial warnings on tobacco products have been introduced, according to a source at the Ministry of Health.

Accordingly, the ministry has proposed to rise in taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products which was later sent for detailed studies by government agencies concerned, along with the GCC secretariat.

Oman has no tobacco products manufacturing company and it imports most of the brands. Along with this, illegal trafficking and sale of banned cigarette brands are also rampant in most of the small shops.

The Muscat Municipality and Public Authority for Consumer Protection along with the ROP conduct raids on suspected shops and confiscate huge cache of such products every now and then.