Cigarettes to Cost More, ITC Hikes Prices of Some Brands

Diversified conglomerate ITC has raised the prices of select cigarette brands like Classic and Gold Flake Kings by up to Rs 10/pack in the wake of hike in excise duty on cigarettes in the Budget.

"Prices of select ITC Cigarette brands have been increased and new stocks are expected to hit the market shortly," an ITC Ltd spokesperson told PTI.

Prices of Classic and Gold Flake Kings have been revised from Rs 85 to Rs 95 for packs of 10, the spokesperson added.

Further, prices of Bristol Filter have been increased from Rs 45 to Rs 47, Capstan Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 47, Flake Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 48 and Flake Excel Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 45.

However, prices of brands like Navy Cut at Rs 69, Gold Flake Filter at Rs 59, Gold Flake Premium Filter at Rs 58 , and Scissors Filter and Flake Premium Filter at Rs 50 remain unchanged, the spokesperson said.

The company's rival Godfrey Phillips, however, declined to comment on price hike on its products.

In the Budget for 2014-15, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced an increase in excise duty on cigarettes in the range of 11 per cent to 72 per cent.

ITC has interests in various verticals including fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) , hotels, paperboards and packaging, tobacco products and information technology.