Paper, infra stocks in action after GST relief; fertiliser stocks slump

As Nirmala Sitharaman-headed 53rd GST Council meeting brought relief to a host of sectors including infra and paper among others, their stocks are seeing action in Monday’s trade (June 24, 2024).

Paper stocks including JK Paper and Orient Paper among others traded with gains of up to 4 per cent as the government has slashed the GST on boxes made of paper from the earlier 18 per cent to 12 per cent. The reduction is aimed at benefitting both manufacturers as well as consumers by reducing the total cost of these important packaging materials.

Also, on the sidelines infra stocks engaged in highway construction got a boost as they will need to shell out GST based on actual payments received rather than annually.  

Likewise, on the development, shares of GPT Infraprojects marked their fresh 52-week high today, gaining as much as 5 per cent, whereas IRB Infrastructure gained only marginally.

Shares of fertiliser companies including the likes of Chambal Fertilisers, National Fertilizers Limited and Rallis India among others traded with a sharp cut of up to 7 per cent as the decision for lowering the GST rate on fertilisers has not been finalised in the recent meeting and the proposal has been sent to the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation.

At the last count, shares of National Fertilizers traded weak by over 6 per cent at Rs 132.05, while others such as Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) traded lower by over 8 per cent and RCF traded down by over 5 per cent.

"Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister P Keshav on Saturday said the GST council has referred a recommendation on exempting the fertiliser sector from the current 5 per cent GST to the Group of Ministers on rate rationalisation," the PTI report said.

(This story will be updated shortly)