As of yesterday I was still a little angsty because it seemed the two houses, the National Assembly and the National Council, seemed to differ on the amendments proposed to the existing Tobacco Act, which meant that it might not happen.
After reading the arguments of those who proposed against amending or balking at the changes the National Council had proposed it seemed like there would be an impasse leaving us with no change whatsoever.
Fortunately there has been a turn of events and I was so happy to read from the BBS twitter feed this morning that both houses have voted and that (as BBS says) the Tobacco Act is Draconian no more.
You can read the story on BBS from the link but I'm also making it available in the body of my post for readers to see the changes that have been made (confusing as it can be). As I was going through the changes though I just wondered why they needed to make laws that went into details like this :
"If they are found in possession of more than three times the permissible amount but less than or equal to four times the permissible quantity, they would have committed a misdemeanour." Nothing very difficult but rather petty and confusing (? x 3 but > or = 4x ?). Anyhow, that is something negligible in the scheme of things and one or rather I, a non-smoker so affected by this Act, should be happy that it has been amended at last!
One concern though is for those still in the prisons. There was no mention of whether these new changes should be applicable to their cases or not. And if not, Why? is the big question. For once the Amendment has been made it makes sense that it should be applicable to all - especially those that were adversely affected by it when it was implemented.
Amending the Act or winning a majority in votes to amend it is a clear indication that it was flawed and that it had over-reached. I sincerely hope that their cases will be taken into consideration.
Meanwhile, I will say that I am grateful and thankful to our legislators who voted to make this happen. Without their wisdom and their ability to see that there was something inherently wrong in such a legislation, we wouldn't have this outcome. So, "Namey Samey Kadinche". We all make mistakes but it is only when we are not embarrassed to admit them, and agree to make amends that we learn from them. In some ways despite having made that mistake, one emerges stronger and even worthy of more respect. I am hopeful that we can continue to have such deliberations and come to a common understanding over the other issues we disagree on e.g. the need for perks for people who already have them ;)
Here are the changes:
The amended bill does not allow people to buy or sell tobacco products in the country but doing so will not necessarily result in a three year jail term as it did in the past.
Consumers may also bring a permissible amount of tobacco products after paying tax.
The permissible quantity which has also been increased has been set at 300 sticks of cigarettes, 400 sticks of bidis, 50 pieces of cigars, or 150 grams of other tobacco products.
Being found in possession or transporting tobacco products will also not result in a jail term if the quantity is within four times the permissible amount.
If a person is caught with the permissible amount of tobacco products but without proof of tax and duty payment, he or she will be fined. The amount of the fine will be set by the tobacco control board.
If they are found in possession of more than the permissible amount but less than three times the permissible quantity, they would be guilty of a petty misdemeanour.
Petty misdemeanour will result in one month to one year imprisonment. The guilty may pay a fine in lieu of the prison sentence.
If they are found in possession of more than three times the permissible amount but less than or equal to four times the permissible quantity, they would have committed a misdemeanour.
Misdemeanour will result in a one to three years imprisonment. It is a bailable sentence, which means, they can pay a fine in lieu of the prison sentence.
And if they are found with more than four times the permissible quantity, it will be considered a felony of the fourth degree and they can be jailed for three to five years.
Felony of the fourth degree is non-bail and those who are guilty will have to serve the sentence in jail
Here is Kuensel's article on the Amended Act.
*I did forget to mention though that there is still a little danger that this Bill can cause problems because it is vague in some areas. Example, Tobacco is not allowed to be manufactured or sold in Bhutan doing so, they say, will NOT result in a 3 yr jail term. So what will it result in if one is caught selling it?
*The amount of fine if person has been caught without proof of tax and duty payment has not been determined by the Tobacco Control Board. If this is determined at some insane amount then I can assure you that implementors of this law should expect nothing but more problems.
After reading the arguments of those who proposed against amending or balking at the changes the National Council had proposed it seemed like there would be an impasse leaving us with no change whatsoever.
Fortunately there has been a turn of events and I was so happy to read from the BBS twitter feed this morning that both houses have voted and that (as BBS says) the Tobacco Act is Draconian no more.
You can read the story on BBS from the link but I'm also making it available in the body of my post for readers to see the changes that have been made (confusing as it can be). As I was going through the changes though I just wondered why they needed to make laws that went into details like this :
"If they are found in possession of more than three times the permissible amount but less than or equal to four times the permissible quantity, they would have committed a misdemeanour." Nothing very difficult but rather petty and confusing (? x 3 but > or = 4x ?). Anyhow, that is something negligible in the scheme of things and one or rather I, a non-smoker so affected by this Act, should be happy that it has been amended at last!
One concern though is for those still in the prisons. There was no mention of whether these new changes should be applicable to their cases or not. And if not, Why? is the big question. For once the Amendment has been made it makes sense that it should be applicable to all - especially those that were adversely affected by it when it was implemented.
Amending the Act or winning a majority in votes to amend it is a clear indication that it was flawed and that it had over-reached. I sincerely hope that their cases will be taken into consideration.
Meanwhile, I will say that I am grateful and thankful to our legislators who voted to make this happen. Without their wisdom and their ability to see that there was something inherently wrong in such a legislation, we wouldn't have this outcome. So, "Namey Samey Kadinche". We all make mistakes but it is only when we are not embarrassed to admit them, and agree to make amends that we learn from them. In some ways despite having made that mistake, one emerges stronger and even worthy of more respect. I am hopeful that we can continue to have such deliberations and come to a common understanding over the other issues we disagree on e.g. the need for perks for people who already have them ;)
Here are the changes:
The amended bill does not allow people to buy or sell tobacco products in the country but doing so will not necessarily result in a three year jail term as it did in the past.
Consumers may also bring a permissible amount of tobacco products after paying tax.
The permissible quantity which has also been increased has been set at 300 sticks of cigarettes, 400 sticks of bidis, 50 pieces of cigars, or 150 grams of other tobacco products.
Being found in possession or transporting tobacco products will also not result in a jail term if the quantity is within four times the permissible amount.
If a person is caught with the permissible amount of tobacco products but without proof of tax and duty payment, he or she will be fined. The amount of the fine will be set by the tobacco control board.
If they are found in possession of more than the permissible amount but less than three times the permissible quantity, they would be guilty of a petty misdemeanour.
Petty misdemeanour will result in one month to one year imprisonment. The guilty may pay a fine in lieu of the prison sentence.
If they are found in possession of more than three times the permissible amount but less than or equal to four times the permissible quantity, they would have committed a misdemeanour.
Misdemeanour will result in a one to three years imprisonment. It is a bailable sentence, which means, they can pay a fine in lieu of the prison sentence.
And if they are found with more than four times the permissible quantity, it will be considered a felony of the fourth degree and they can be jailed for three to five years.
Felony of the fourth degree is non-bail and those who are guilty will have to serve the sentence in jail
Here is Kuensel's article on the Amended Act.
*I did forget to mention though that there is still a little danger that this Bill can cause problems because it is vague in some areas. Example, Tobacco is not allowed to be manufactured or sold in Bhutan doing so, they say, will NOT result in a 3 yr jail term. So what will it result in if one is caught selling it?
*The amount of fine if person has been caught without proof of tax and duty payment has not been determined by the Tobacco Control Board. If this is determined at some insane amount then I can assure you that implementors of this law should expect nothing but more problems.
0 comments:
Post a Comment