ITC Cigarette Price Hike: Gold Flake Premium Rises to INR 135
ITC hiked September cigarette prices, raising Gold Flake Premium to INR 135/pack (plus 8 per cent, cumulative plus 17.4 per cent YTD from INR 115), Classic Connect to INR 428/20-pack (plus 9.74 per cent), and Gold Flake Super Star to INR 89/10-pack (plus 12.66 per cent). Driven by Feb 2026's 40 per cent GST and excise hikes.
ITC Ltd. has rolled out a fresh round of retail price increases, lifting Gold Flake Premium to INR 135 per pack of 10 as tobacco manufacturers continue absorbing the financial impact of earlier regulatory tax revisions.
Latest September Price Revisions
Dealer checks confirm that revised maximum retail prices (MRPs) for September reflect sequential upward adjustments across value and premium tiers, reports NDTV Profit.
| Product Variant | Pack Size | Previous Price | Current Price | Change |
| Gold Flake Premium | 10 sticks | 125 | 135 | +8.0 per cent |
| Classic Connect | 20 sticks | 390 | 428 | +9.74 per cent |
| Gold Flake Super Star | 10 sticks | 79 | 89 | +12.66 per cent |
Cumulative 2026 Price Progression
The latest moves build on a multi-stage repricing cadence executed throughout the year:
- Gold Flake Premium: Rose 8.7 per cent in June (moving from INR 115 to INR 125) before the September bump to INR 135, marking a cumulative 17.4 per cent increase YTD from the INR 115 baseline (matching prior analytical projections).
- Classic Connect: Escalated across early-year phases from an initial ₹300 level in February to INR 360, INR 390, and now INR 428.
- Gold Flake Super Star: Moved from INR 59 (February) to INR 70, prior to reaching INR 79 and subsequent September pricing at INR 89. ITC Cigarette Price Hike: Classic Connect and Gold Flake Super Star Get Costlier; Check New Rates Here.
Regulatory Background
The upward pricing trajectory stems from structural tax updates introduced on February 1, 2026, which shifted cigarette taxation to a 40 per cent GST rate paired with a tiered, length- and filter-dependent additional excise-duty framework. Manufacturers have utilised sequential pass-throughs to protect operating margins against compressed realisation spreads.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2026 11:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
