Members of the state-owned Thailand Tobacco Monopoly's labour union rallied outside the Finance Ministry on Friday, seeking justice over the new excise tax structure they say caused a 41% drop in TTM's cigarette sales, but opened a legal loophole for foreign tobacco companies to boost their share of the market.
The rally leaders planned to present a petition to the ministry, arguing the new tax structure and associated drop in sales could affect their jobs, tobacco farmers and other related businesses.
After the new rates came into force on Sept 16, importers cut the retail prices of some imported cigarettes to 60 baht a pack, taking advantage of the new rates. This attracted more buyers and caused a hefty fall in the tobacco monopoly's sales.
The labour union foresaw a sharp drop in the market share of its local cigarette brands in the next two years.
With the planned relocation of the tobacco agency to Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, 2,950 TTM employees, 1,000 temporary workers, some 20,000 tobacco farmers and over 500,000 operators of TTM-related businesses would be hurt by the drop in the sales volume caused by the new tax structure, according to the labour union.