ISLAMABAD (Online) - The illegitimate cigarettes are seen in the market in abundance after the reduction of federal excise duty (FED) on filter rods from Rs. 1 to 20 per cent of the value goods. Sources in the cigarette industry revealed that the reduction of FED has facilitated the business of illegitimate cigarette producers as the surveillance and monitoring by the concerned authorities is already weak. It is worth mentioning that the FED on filter rods was placed during the last year budget. At the rate of Re 1 per filter rod on cigarettes, the duty was allowed to be adjusted and the measure was largely aimed at realizing revenue on sale of filter rods from unregistered and illicit manufacturers of cigarettes and to document the economy. The tax leakages in the cigarette manufacturing industry had been particularly plugged considerably after the cigarette manufacturers were also called upon to provide data, including raw material imported/purchased, number of filter rods manufactured, total number of filter rods available for consumption in cigarette manufacturing, filter rods sold in market, FED on filter rods sold and other information specified in the concerned Registers. However, the latest round of arm-twisting and pressure tactics which comes at a time when the higher echelons in FBR are knee-deep busy in finding ways to jack up the dwindling government revenue through innovative taxation measures, has already caused a great deal of concern among the legitimate cigarette industry as it feels that the move is being executed by the informal cigarette industry.