ITC slumps over 6% on worries over higher taxes in budget

Shares of India’s biggest cigarette manufacturer ITC Ltd fell more than 6% on a media report that the government may raise taxes on cigarettes aggressively in the upcoming budget in July, dealers said.

Shares of India’s biggest cigarette manufacturer ITC Ltd fell more than 6% on a media report that the government may raise taxes on cigarettes aggressively in the upcoming budget in July, dealers said.

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Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had sought an increase in tax on cigarettes of all lengths by Rs. 2 to 3.5 per stick, newspaper Economic Times said in a report on Friday.

"Although the previous government had raised tax on cigarettes by about 19% in February 2013, the increase was too little to lower consumption," the report quoted the minister as saying.