GST Rate Hike On Caffeinated Drinks To Have Minimal Impact: Varun Beverages
The finance minister has announced a GST rate hike on caffeinated drinks to 28% plus 12% cess from 18% previously.
The hike in goods and services tax for caffeinated drinks will have a “minimal” impact on Varun Beverages Ltd., PepsiCo Inc.’s India bottler said Monday, even as it welcomed the revision in corporate tax rates.
After the 37th GST Council meeting in Goa on Friday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a GST rate hike on caffeinated drinks to 28 percent plus 12 percent cess from 18 percent previously.
"With regard to the increase in GST rates on caffeinated drinks, the effect on Varun Beverages is expected to be minimal as the incremental volumes that will come under the higher GST bracket was approximately 0.7 million cases out of 340 million cases of sales volume based upon calendar year 2018," the Jaipur-based company said in a regulatory filing.
The corresponding volume of the first half (January-June) of the calendar year 2019 is 0.6 million cases out of 285.8 million cases, Varun Beverages said.
On Monday, Varun Beverages’ shares rose 3.83 percent to Rs 643.00 apiece on the BSE while the benchmark Sensex gained 2.83 percent to end the day at 39,090.03 points.