177 items to become cheaper as GST Council decides to trim 28% slab
Only 50 items, mostly
demerit, sin and luxury goods, to remain in the highest tax bracket of 28%
LATEST
NEWS : In a major relief to consumers and industry,
the Goods
& Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday decided to lower the rates
for 177 items in the highest tax slab of 28 per cent.
In the first
half of the meeting taking place in Guwahati, the Council decided to trim the
28 per cent slab to just 50 items, as against 227 items currently. High-end
items, including automobiles, washing machine, refrigerator, sin goods like
paan masala and cigar are among these 50 items. This is the biggest reduction
seen since the GST implementation on July 1.
"We
decided to also look into the remaining 62 items and see if there is a scope
for reducing rates on those items as well," said a state government
official.
The Council
decided to go beyond the recommendation of the fitment committee to thin the 28
per cent slab to 62 items and decided to additionally lower the rates for 12
more items.
Shaving
cream, beauty products, chocolates, chewing gum, marble and granite are among
the additional 12 items for reduction to 18 per cent, beyond the fitment
committee recommendation.
"We
identified 12 more items, which will now be reduced to 18 per cent," said
a government official who did not wish to be named.
"All
decisions have been taken unanimously by the GST Council. Elections have
nothing to do with decisions to be taken by the Council," said Haryana
Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu.
The second
half of the meeting will see discussions on easing the compliance burden on
taxpayers and making the composition scheme more attractive.
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