ITC Declines For Second Consecutive Day On Hike In Excise Duty

ITC stock touched fresh 52-week lows on the BSE after the government proposed to increase excise duty on tobacco in the Union Budget. The shares of the cigarette maker ended Monday's session at Rs 208, lower by 11 points or 5 per cent, on the BSE. Among its peers, VST slid 1.4 per cent to Rs 4,151 and Godfrey Phillip lost 0.8 per cent at Rs 1,125. 

"As a revenue measure, I propose to raise excise duty, by way of National Calamity Contingent Duty on Cigarettes and other tobacco products. However, no change is being made in the duty rates of bidis," the Finance Minister had said in her Budget speech.

The stock was hammered by 7 per cent on Saturday, in wake of the budgetary announcement, taking cumulative losses on the ITC counter to 12 per cent in the past two days.

The company has earned 44 per cent of its revenues from the cigarette business in the quarter ended December 2019.

Meanwhile, the Sensex rose 136 points or 0.3 per cent to close at 39,872 and Nifty rose 46 points or 0.3 per cent to end at 11,708 on Friday.