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Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the last budget of the Narendra Modi-led government in the parliament today. While making announcements, Sitharaman said cigarettes will get more expensive and announced a 16% increase in NCCD on cigarettes. “I propose to reduce the number of basic custom duty rates on goods other than textiles and agriculture, from 21 to 13. As a result, there are minor changes in the basic custom duties, cesses & surcharges on some items including toys, bicycles, and automobiles”, said FM Nirmala Sitharaman.
NCCD Duty rate on Cigarettes
| Description of goods | Rate of excise duty | |
| From
(` per 1000 sticks) |
To
(` per 1000 sticks) |
|
| Other than filter cigarettes, of length not exceeding 65 mm | 200 | 230 |
| Other than filter cigarettes, of length exceeding 65 mm but not exceeding 70 mm | 250 | 290 |
| Filter cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm | 440 | 510 |
| Filter cigarettes of length exceeding 65 mm but not exceeding 70 mm | 440 | 510 |
| Filter cigarettes of length exceeding 70 mm but not exceeding 75 mm | 545 | 630 |
| Other cigarettes | 735 | 850 |
| Cigarettes of tobacco substitutes | 600 | 690 |
Shares of cigarette companies, including Godfrey Phillips India and ITC Ltd, plunged by up to 5 per cent on the BSE after the announcement, news agency PTI reported.
The stock of Godfrey Phillips rose to 4.92 percent to ₹1,828.75 on the BSE, while Golden Tobacco declined 3.81 per cent to Rs 59.4. Shares of ITC were trading 0.78 per cent lower at Rs 349 on the bourse. NTC Industries dropped 1.4 per cent and VST Industries slipped 0.35 per cent.
India is among 182 countries which signed the WHO framework convention on tobacco control which recommends at least 75 per cent tax on retail price of all tobacco products. However, in India, tax on cigarettes is 52.7 per cent, ‘bidis’ 22 per cent and chewing tobacco 63.8 per cent.According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey-India (GATS -2016-17), nearly 27 crore adults of 15 years age and above used tobacco in some form or the other. India is the second largest consumer and the third largest producer of tobacco.
Besides cigarette, jwellery made of gold is also going to be dearer as basic customs duty has been hiked on articles made from gold bars. However, the govt reduced basic customs duty on seeds used in manufacturing of lab-grown diamonds.
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