The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has reduced the penalty on unauthorised tobacco to 5 per cent for the season 2021/22, reports The Hindu.

The tobacco season 2021/22 began in September 2020 and will conclude when the tobacco is auctioned in February/March 2022. In a move that will help farmers throughout the country, the government has decided that this season the Tobacco Board will be able to levy a penalty of 5 per cent on the proceeds and RUP 1 per kg of unauthorised tobacco compared to 10 per cent and RUP 2 last season.
Pratap Simha, Mysuru MP, had appealed to the Union Commerce Secretary to reduce the penalty, saying that since tobacco cultivation relies on climatic conditions it was impossible for farmers to estimate yields or control the output, reports The Hindu.
Tobacco is considered as unauthorised when it is grown in excess of the licensed farmers’ barn size or if the farmer does not have a tobacco cultivation license.
According to The Hindu, the Tobacco Board restricted the tobacco crop in Karnataka to 97 million kg and 1,750 kg per barn for the current season.