Namkeen stocks soar on GST rate cut: Gopal Snacks, Bikaji Food International, Prataap Snacks shares surge up to 6%

Stocks like Gopal Snacks, Bikaji Food International and Prataap Snacks surged as much as 6% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The GST Council meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced goods and service tax (GST) rate cuts across several categories, with the GST on pre-packaged namkeens, bhujia & mixtures witnessing a reduction from 12% to 5%.

Prataap Snacks shares zoomed as much as 6.48% to the day’s peak of ₹1,050.20 apiece. At around 11:19 am, the scrip was up 2.51% at ₹1,011.05 per equity share.

Shares of Gopal Snacks soared 5.47% to an intraday high of ₹383.85 per equity share. At the time of writing, it was trading 2.21% higher at ₹372 apiece.

Meanwhile, the shares of Bikaji Foods International advanced as much as 4.31% to the day’s high of ₹818.70 per equity share. It was trading at ₹799 apiece, up 1.8%, as of 11:19 am.

Industry commentary

Commenting on the GST rationalisation, Rishabh Jain, CFO, Bikaji Foods International, said: “We welcome the recent GST reforms announced by the Government. As part of the snacks industry, we generally maintain a limited finished goods inventory of 2–4 days. We are closely reviewing the overall impact of these reforms on input and output taxes, and will take a considered decision on price reductions for our family pack namkeens by the end of this month. We believe these reforms will further support an increase in overall consumption across the industry.”

Bikaji Foods highlighted how such tax reforms bolster the foundation of growth for the FMCG segment, as it makes goods more accessible to consumers. At the same time, it enables firms to reinvest in innovation and value deliveries.

GST reforms

GST rates on other daily essential items, including hair oil, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet soap bar, tooth brushes, shaving cream, butter, ghee, cheese & dairy spreads, utensils, feeding bottles, napkins for babies & clinical diapers, and sewing machines & parts, were brought down from 18% or 12% to 5%.

Besides daily essentials, the council approved simplifying the GST from the current four slabs, which stand at 5, 12, 18, and 28%, to a two-rate structure of 5 and 18%. However, a special 40% slab was also proposed for a select few items such as high-end cars, tobacco and cigarettes.

"This reform is not just on rationalising rates, it's also on structural reforms, ease of living, so that businesses can work together with great ease. We have corrected inverted duty structure problems, we have resolved classification-related issues, and we have ensured there will be stability and predictability about the GST reforms," the Finance Minister said.

The new rates for all products, except sin goods, will be effective from September 22, which is also the first day of Navratri.