ITC cigarette prices revised again: Classic Connect, Gold Flake Super Star get costlier

ITC Ltd has raised the prices of select cigarette brands again, with Classic Connect and Gold Flake Super Star seeing another increase in their maximum retail prices (MRP), according to dealer checks. Stocks carrying the revised prices have already started entering the market, NDTV Profit reported.

The Classic Connect 20-cigarette pack is now priced at ₹428, compared with ₹390 earlier, marking an increase of ₹38 or 9.74%.

The company has also increased the price of the Gold Flake Super Star 10-cigarette pack to ₹89 from ₹79. This represents a ₹10 increase, or 12.66%, according to dealer checks.

The latest price revisions come after cigarette manufacturers raised prices across several brands following changes in the taxation structure for tobacco products earlier this year.

Cigarette tax changes from February

From February 1, cigarettes and other tobacco products moved to a 40% GST rate, alongside a new additional excise-duty structure. Cigarette companies, including ITC, subsequently implemented multiple rounds of price increases across brands as they sought to offset the higher tax burden.

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The latest increase is therefore not the industry's first response to the new tax regime. Instead, it follows several rounds of price revisions implemented during the year.

In February, industry reports had indicated that ITC increased the price of the Classic Connect pack from ₹300 to ₹360, before raising it further to ₹390. During the same period, the price of Gold Flake Super Star increased from ₹59 to ₹70.

ITC subsequently undertook additional price revisions on selected lower-priced and pocket-pack offerings. In May, NDTV Profit reported that the company had increased the price of Gold Flake Super Star to ₹79 from ₹70.

The latest increase takes the same pack to ₹89, while Classic Connect has moved to ₹428.

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Impact on cigarette volumes

The repeated price increases are significant for cigarette companies because higher retail prices can affect consumer demand and volumes, even as they help offset higher taxation.

Brokerage Nomura had earlier observed that ITC's price increases were intended to cushion the impact of the tax changes. It had also cautioned that higher prices could put pressure on cigarette volumes.

For consumers, the latest revisions mean another increase in the retail price of two widely sold ITC cigarette brands. For ITC, the pricing actions are part of its broader response to the higher tax incidence on cigarettes following the changes introduced from February.

The latest dealer-level checks indicate that the revised-price stock is now entering the market, meaning consumers may increasingly see the new MRPs on packs as older inventory is replaced.

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