In the 23rd GST Council meeting headed by the Finance minister Arun Jaitley, that took place in Guwahati, Assam on November 10, 2017, the council has recommended some major shift in items in the GST (Goods and Service Tax) tax bracket.
In the meeting, the council has taken the 28% tax slab into reconsideration and decided to keep the highest 28% tax on luxury and sinful items. Hence, 177 items have been shifted to the 18% tax bracket.
There were 227 items in the 28 per cent slab. The fitment committee had recommended that it should be pruned to 62 items. But the GST Council has further pruned 12 more items.
Contents
18% to 12% Tax bracket
Goods
- Condensed milk
- Refined sugar and sugar cubes
- Pasta
- Curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasoning
- Diabetic food
- Medicinal grade oxygen
- Printing ink
- Hand bags and shopping bags of jute and cotton
- Hats (knitted or crocheted)
- Parts of specified agricultural, horticultural, forestry, harvesting or threshing machinery
- Specified parts of sewing machine
- Spectacles frames
- Furniture wholly made of bamboo or cane
Services
Services that are kept under this tax bracket are
- state – run lotteries,
- Non – AC hotels,
- business class air ticket,
- fertilisers,
- work contracts
28% to 18% Tax bracket
Goods
- Wire, cables, insulated conductors, electrical insulators, electrical plugs, switches, sockets, fuses, relays, electrical connectors
- Electrical boards, panels, consoles, cabinets etc for electric control or distribution
- Particle / fibre boards and ply wood. Article of wood, wooden frame, paving block
- Furniture, mattress, bedding and similar furnishing
- Trunk, suitcase, vanity cases, brief cases, travelling bags and other hand bags, cases
- Detergents, washing and cleaning preparations
- Liquid or cream for washing the skin
- Shampoos; Hair cream, Hair dyes (natural, herbal or synthetic) and similar other goods; henna powder or paste, not mixed with any other ingredient;
- Pre – shave, shaving or after-shave preparations, personal deodorants, bath preparations, perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations, room deodoriser
- Perfumes and toilet waters
- Beauty or make – up preparations
- Fans, pumps, compressors
- Lamp and light fitting
- Primary cell and primary batteries
- Sanitary ware and parts thereof of all kind
- Articles of plastic, floor covering, baths, shower, sinks, washbasins, seats, sanitary ware of plastic
- Slabs of marbles and granite
- Goods of marble and granite such as tiles
- Ceramic tiles of all kinds
- Miscellaneous articles such as vacuum flasks, lighters,
- Wrist watches, clocks, watch movement, watch cases, straps, parts
- Article of apparel & clothing accessories of leather, guts, fur skin, artificial fur and other articles such as saddler and harness for any animal
- Articles of cutlery, stoves, cookers and similar non electric domestic appliances
- Razor and razor blades
- Multi-functional printers, cartridges
- Office or desk equipment
- Door, windows and frames of aluminium.
- Articles of plaster such as board, sheet,
- Articles of cement or concrete or stone and artificial stone,
- Articles of asphalt or slate, Articles of mica
- Ceramic flooring blocks, pipes, conduit, pipe fitting
- Wall paper and wall covering
- Glass of all kinds and articles thereof such as mirror, safety glass, sheets, glassware
- Electrical, electronic weighing machinery
- Fire extinguishers and fire extinguishing charge
- Fork lifts, lifting and handling equipment,
- Bull dozers, excavators, loaders, road rollers,
- Earth moving and levelling machinery,
- Escalators,
- Cooling towers, pressure vessels, reactors
- Crankshaft for sewing machine, tailor’s dummies, bearing housings, gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gaskets
- Electrical apparatus for radio and television broadcasting
- Sound recording or reproducing apparatus
- Signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for transports
- Physical exercise equipment, festival and carnival equipment, swings, shooting galleries, roundabouts, gymnastic and athletic equipment
- All musical instruments and their parts.
- Artificial flowers, foliage and artificial fruits
- Explosive, anti-knocking preparation, fireworks
- Cocoa butter, fat, oil powder,
- Extract, essence ad concentrates of coffee, miscellaneous food preparations
- Chocolates, Chewing gum / bubble gum
- Malt extract and food preparations of flour, groats, meal, starch or malt extract
- Waffles and wafers coated with chocolate or containing chocolate
- Rubber tubes and miscellaneous articles of rubber
- Goggles, binoculars, telescope,
- Cinematographic cameras and projectors, image projector,
- Microscope, specified laboratory equipment, specified scientific equipment such as for meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, geology
- Solvent, thinners, hydraulic fluids, anti-freezing preparation
Services
Restaurants in hotel premises having room tariff of Rs 7500 and above, telecom services, IT services, branded garments and financial services, Outdoor catering
28% Tax Slab
The tax fitment committee have decided to keep only 50 luxuries and sin items to taxed at the highest tax bracket i.e. 28%. Let us look at some of these items which are as follows:
Goods
In total 50 luxury and sin products will be taxed at 28% which includes
- Bidis,
- molasses,
- pan masala,
- aerated water,
- paint,
- sunscreen,
- wallpaper,
- ceramic tiles,
- water heater,
- dishwasher,
- weighing machine,
- washing machine,
- ATM,
- vending machines,
- vacuum cleaner,
- automobiles,
- motorcycles,
- aircraft for personal use.
Services
Private – run lotteries authorised by the states, race club betting, cinema will attract tax 28 per cent tax slab under GST.