The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states intend to increase the customs duty levied on imports of tobacco and its by-products by 100 per cent.
The GCC financial and economic committee which convened in Riyadh last October approved the fee hike, sources told Kuwaiti Arabic newspaper Alqabas.
In Kuwait, the minimum taxes levied on tobacco imports will be double from KD8 at present to KD16 per 1000 cigarettes.
The hike, which is planned to take effect from early 2017, is the third of its kind in two years.