ITC shares tumble 5% as govt hikes excise duty on cigarettes

Shares of ITC today plunged 5 per cent after government raised excise duty on cigarettes.
The blue-chip stock ended 4.97 per cent lower at Rs 343.30 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 5.23 per cent to Rs 342.35.
At the NSE, it slipped 5.04 per cent to Rs 343.15.
The stock was the biggest loser among the blue-chips on both Sensex and Nifty during the day.
Other cigarette stocks also faced selling pressure. VST Industries fell by 3.79 per cent, Golden Tobacco was down 3.21 per cent and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd lost 1.79 per cent on the BSE.

The government came down heavily on smokers and tobacco consumers in Budget 2015-16 with a steep increase in excise duty.
Citing need for promotion of public health, Jaitley on Saturday said: "Excise duty on cigarettes is being increased by 25 per cent for cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm and by 15 per cent for cigarettes of other lengths. Similar increases are proposed on cigars, cheroots and cigarillos."
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended 97.64 points up at 29,459.14.