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%

 

GST council meeting : 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% GST 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.(economy today)

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....

India's GST rates are highest in the world: Manpreet Singh Badal

Congress will strongly raise the issue of compliance and reduction in tax rates at the GST Council meeting in Guwahati: Badal

 

 

 

Exclusion of energy, real estate, and power are leading to cascading of taxes, and need to be brought under the goods and services tax (GST), said Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. He told Dilasha Seth that the Congress will strongly raise the issue of compliance and reduction in tax rates at the Council meeting in Guwahati on Friday. Edited excerpts:

What are the key concerns that you have raised with the Centre on the GST?

We were told once the GST was implemented, India’s gross domestic product would go up by two per cent, but the opposite has happened. There is something fundamentally wrong with the GST — whether be it the rates, compliance, or the GST Network (GSTN) itself. We have gone in for a reform measure that is half-baked. The Indian GST rate is the highest in the world. Most countries start with a uniform GST rate of a single digit — at best, below 15 per cent; at worst, 18-20 per cent. The GST rates of 40 per cent are unheard of anywhere in the world.(economy policy)

Most of the issues on rates and compliance may get addressed in the Council meeting on Friday. Why is the Congress raising them now?

It has been five months since the GST roll-out. It is now that the government has woken up to the issues we have been talking about. It is too little, too late. It is not a question of the Congress or the BJP, but a question of the livelihood of millions. There has been a change of heart at the Centre. I do not know whether it has to do with the elections, but it needs to be done in the interest of the nation.

You also spoke about including real estate, petrol, and electricity under the GST. Will you effectively raise it in the meeting on Friday?

One has to bring petroleum, real estate, and electricity under the GST. This has, in fact, led to a lot of cascading of taxes across the board. For GST to be effective, all items must be subsumed. At least 50 per cent revenue has been kept out of the GST. There needs to be a discussion on this.

Compliance is another issue you have strongly raised. What is the big demand?

The requirement of matching nearly 3,500 million invoices every month with a possible 20 per cent mismatch will require additional working capital of close to Rs 1 lakh crore. Companies are not getting their input credit on time. Compliance should be made easier. The GSTN needs to be strengthened. The invoice matching glitches should be rectified. We hope to find a solution to that in today’s (Friday’s) meeting.

Watch: Mirage 2000 fighter jets land on Lucknow-Agra Expressway

The exercise was conducted near Bangarmau in Unnao

Twenty aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), including AN-32 transport, Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30 MKI, made a touchdown on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway on Tuesday.

Two AN-32 transport and fighter planes such as Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Sukhoi 30 MKI are taking part in the exercise.The AN-32 are meant for humanitarian assistance and relief operations during floods or any other natural calamity. (economy news)

The exercise was conducted near Bangarmau in Unnao.

The IAF’s touchdown exercise, in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Government, is the first official IAF exercise on the expressway, which was inaugurated in November last year.

“It is for the first time any transport aircraft will land and then take off from the expressway. The AN-32 are meant for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief during floods or any other natural calamity,” PRO, Defence (Central Command), Gargi Malik Sinha told PTI.

On November 21, six Mirage and Sukhoi jets had presented airshow and conducted their maiden training on its 3.3 km long specially built runway in Unnao district near Kanpur. Then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and then ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav were present during the air show.

For October 24 exercise, a stretch of the 302-km long expressway would be closed for traffic during October 20-24. The training will help the IAF pilots to get acclimatise to the landing and takeoff exercise using public highways/expressway during emergency or war situations.

According to the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the incoming traffic for the closed stretch would be diverted to other highways. | Readmore