Cigarettes firms slip on cess hike speculations; ITC down 3%

Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries also slipped 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively

Shares of cigarettes companies such as ITC, Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries slipped up to nearly 3% on Monday following the news buzz that the GST Council may consider hiking the compensation cess on cigarettes if prices come down post the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The GST Council will meet later today to take stock of the implementation of the new indirect tax regime.   

Reacting to the buzz, ITC hit an intraday low of Rs 327, down 2.9% on the BSE in an otherwise strong market. The stock was the leading loser on Sensex.

Godfrey