Higher tax on cigarettes under GST to impact legal sale: ITC
India's largest cigarette manufacturer ITC has said that higher tax rate under the new GST regime will "exacerbate" the pressure on the entire legal cigarette value chain. The legal cigarette industry has witnessed a 25% decline in volumes from the 2012-13 fiscal, ITC noted. "The cumulative growth in tax incidence on cigarettes...stands at a staggering 202% since 2011-12," it added.