Cigarette prices soar after the government imposes a higher sales taxes on all Egyptian brands. Eastern Company issued a release yesterday announcing an increase in the selling prices for all of its Winston cigarette brands effective on Thursday, June 23, 2011.
The increase is the result of higher sales taxes on cigarettes, in line with Law No. 49 (2011), which stipulates that sales taxes on cigarettes should amount to 50 per cent of the selling price compared to 40 per cent previously.
Eastern Company’s cigarette retail prices will rise by 20 per cent on average, with the cheapest pack of cigarettes (20 cigarettes per pack) selling for EGP5.00 against EGP4.25 per pack.
Eastern Company’s most popular brands, Cleopatra Gold and Cleopatra Box, which collectively represent 60 per cent of its local brand sales, would be sold for EGP5.25 and EGP6.00 per pack, respectively.
The company increased its prices by an average of 8.4 per cent on nine local brands on Mar 23, 2011.