By Aroosa Ahmed

Copyright thehindubusinessline

Fast-moving consumer Goods (FMCG) maker Hindustan Unilever Ltd. stated that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) 2.0 will impact the company’s sales and result in near flat to low-single digit growth for the quarter ending September 30.

“The latest GST reforms are a positive step by the Government to drive consumption. While this measure supports long-term consumption, we have seen a transitory impact in the form of disruption at distributors and retailers across channels to clear existing inventories with old prices,” the company informed the stock exchanges.

“This has resulted in postponement of ordering in anticipation of receiving new stocks with updated prices and lower orders across the overall portfolio as consumers delayed their pantry buying. This has led to a short-term impact on sales for the company in September. Given our existing pipeline inventory in the channels, we expect this impact to continue into October as well,” the company’s statement added.

Approximately 40 per cent of the company’s portfolio including toilet soap, toothpaste, shampoo, hair oil, talcum powder, lifestyle nutrition and other foods now benefit from a reduced GST rate of 5 per cent, down from the previous GST rates of 12 per cent or 18 per cent.

“These reforms are expected to increase disposable income and drive long-term demand across key categories. We expect the consolidated business growth to be near flat to low single digit for the quarter ending 30th September 2025, basis current view. This is a one-off, transitory impact, and we anticipate recovery starting November as prices stabilise, underpinned by rising disposable incomes and our ongoing portfolio transformation actions,” mentions the statement from the company.

Published on September 26, 2025