Shares of cigarette makers gain; ITC, VST Industries up over 5%

Shares of cigarette makers gain; ITC, VST Industries up over 5%

Shares of cigarette makers such as ITC, Godfrey Phillips India and VST Industries rallied by up to 7% on BSE in early morning trade after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's propose to place tobacco products in the 28% tax slab and an additional cess.

The current rate of taxation on cigarettes is around 64% and 81% on chewing tobacco.

The GST Council on Thursday decided upon a 4-slab tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, with lower rates for essential items and the highest for luxury and de-merits goods, many of which would also attract an additional cess.

Among the individual stocks, Golden Tobacco has locked in upper circuit of 10% at Rs 64.10 on BSE. ITC has rallied 7% to Rs 256, followed by VST Industries and Godfrey Phillips India up 6% each, at Rs 2,440 and Rs 1,488, respectively, in intra-day trade. At 09:24 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.11% at 27,400.