GST will have inflationary pressure on tea: Mistry

Kolkata: Implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will have an inflationary impact, leading to increase in tea prices, Tata Global Beverages' Chairman Cyrus P. Mistry said on Wednesday.

"GST will have an inflationary impact on the prices of tea, but this will be across the board," he said while responding to a query of a shareholder at the company's 53rd Annual General Meeting. Mistry said that initially that GST will have inflationary impact on the company's current coffee and tea business as they have a tax incidence. However, there might be "short-term impact" of the GST but the "long term benefit is significant", he added.Mistry said the industry has been making representations for a favourable rate as coffee and tea are widely consumed beverages cutting across economic strata. The company is looking to tap e-commerce platforms to sell its products."We are also seeing shifts in the consumption patterns and emergence of alternate channels and ecommerce platforms and your company is looking to tap this segment," Mistry said.