India: Brick kilns halting production over GST rate hike to hit coal demand

The All India Brick and Tiles Manufacturing Federation (AIBTMF) has decided to stop manufacturing of bricks in 1 lakh units across the country. This stand was adopted following the hike in GST on domestic coal from 1% to 6%. The halt in production would affect the construction sector largely dependant on traditional bricks, which may affect thermal coal demand from Indonesia and Russia.