India 6th largest market for illegal cigarettes

NEW DELHI: At an estimated 2,000 crore, India has become the sixth largest market for contraband cigarettes, casing huge revenue losses to the government and affecting the livelihoods of some five million tobacco farmers, says a study conducted for Assocham.

It could be a source of terror funding too, adds the study.

"These cigarettes evade the payment of excise, VAT, customs or any other applicable tax and are thus cheaply and attractively priced," says a recent study conducted by Euromonitor that has a presence in 80 countries.