Bhutan has decided to reverse the ban on the sale of tobacco aiming to curb the spread of COVID-19, reports EastMojo.

The National Assembly has passed the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2021 and Tax Bill of Bhutan 2021, in a first step towards lifting the ban and legalising selling, buying, possession, distribution, and transportation of tobacco and tobacco products in the country. Legalising tobacco comes with the aim of putting a check on spread of COVID-19, threatened by the constant smuggling of tobacco products across Bhutan’s porous southern border, the report said.
However, the lifting of the ban on tobacco products does not include the production and manufacturing of the same in Bhutan.
The House unanimously agreed to abolish the Sales Tax on tobacco and tobacco products. The government introduced the Tax Bill of Bhutan 2021 for tax revision as an interim measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, upon finding that COVID-19 protocols are breached along the southern border with rampant smuggling and black marketing of tobacco and tobacco products.
At present, 100 per cent Sales Tax is levied on an individual importing tobacco from India. And an additional 100 per cent customs tax is imposed if a person imports tobacco and tobacco products from third countries.
The Bills will now be referred to the National Council (Upper House) for endorsement.
The Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan was enacted and implemented by the Parliament of Bhutan in June 2010. It regulates tobacco and tobacco products, banning the cultivation, harvesting, production, and sale of tobacco and tobacco products in Bhutan.