Chennai: Nearly 18 months and many amendments after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out, consumers will now be able to pay less on 23 items that include services and goods, from today.
The move comes after the GST Council 22 December decided to cut tax rates on items one less than two dozen in number.
The government notified the reduction in GST rates on items such as movie tickets, TVs, power banks and many others, apart from exempting frozen and preserved vegetables from the levy.
The GST Council had rationalised the 28 per cent slab and restricted the highest slab to luxury, demerit and sin goods, besides air-conditioners, cement, dishwashers and large screen TVs.
From today, consumers need shell out less for movie tickets priced up to Rs 100. It has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. Movie tickets priced more than Rs 100 will be taxed at 18 per cent instead of the previous 28 per cent.
Similarly, monitors and television screens up to 32 inches and power banks will be taxed at 18 per cent and not 28 per cent.
The council had restricted items of luxury and demerit, cement, large screen television sets, air-conditioners, and dishwashers to the highest slab.
The items that have been moved from the 28 per cent slab to 18 per cent slab include pulleys, transmission shafts and cranks, gear boxes, retreaded or used tyres, power banks of lithium ion batteries, digital cameras, video camera recorders, and video game consoles.
The council had also reduced the tax on parts and accessories for carriages for disabled persons, moving it from the 28 per cent tax bracket to the lowest tier.
Music books, and frozen and preserved vegetables, which are unsuitable for immediate consumption, have been exempted from GST. Services supplied by banks to basic savings bank deposit account holders under the Jan Dhan Yojana have also been exempted from the tax.
GST rate of 5 per cent rate has been prescribed on renewable energy devices and parts for their manufacture (bio gas plant / solar power-based devices, solar power generating system (SGPS), etc., [falling under chapter 84, 85 or 94 of the tariff]. Other goods or services used in these plants attract applicable GST.
The GST system has five tax slabs – 0, 5, 12, 18 and 28 (in percentages) – and has often faced criticism.
In December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was trying to simplify the GST system so that more than 99 per cent items come under a tax slab of 18 per cent or lower.
“Today, the GST system has been established to a large extent and we are working towards a position where 99 per cent things will attract the sub-18 per cent GST slab,” Modi had said.
“We are of the opinion of making GST as smooth as possible for the enterprises,” he said.
From 28%-18%
* Pulleys, transmission shafts, gear boxes (under HS Code 8483)
* Monitors and TVs (up to screen size of 32 inches)
* Power banks of lithium ion batteries, digital cameras and video camera
From 28%-5%
* Parts and accessories for disabled persons carriages
From 18%-12%
* Cork roughly squared or debagged
* Articles of natural cork
* Agglomerated cork
From 12%-5%
* Natural cork
* Walking stick
* Fly ash blocks
From 5%-0%
* Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen, branded and put in a unit container
* Vegetable provisionally preserved but unsuitable for immediate consumption.