NEW DELHI: The GST Council on Saturday cut rates on 88 items, including footwear, refrigerator, washing machine and small screen TV, while the widely demanded sanitary napkins have been exempted from the levy.
The highest tax bracket of 28 per cent has been rationalised further with rates on daily-use items like perfumes, cosmetics, toiletries, hair dryers, shavers, mixer grinder, vacuum cleaners, lithium ion batteries, being lowered to 18 per cent. The revised tax rates will come into effect from July 27.
"Every state wanted that the rates on these items be lowered so that the middle income households are benefited ... It has also been decided that the GST Council will rise above revenue consideration and focus more on job creation and economic growth," finance minister Piyush Goyal said.
Here are the items set to get cheaper:
Items exempted from GST
Sanitary pads
Rakhis, without precious material like gold, silver etc
Marbles, stone or wood deities
Raw material used in brooms
Fortified milk
Saal leaves
Coir pith compost
Circulation and commemorative coins
GST slashed from 28% to 18%
Washing machine
Refrigerators, Freezers
TVs up to 68cm
Video games
Vacuum cleaners
Trailers and semi-trailers
Mixer grinders
Shavers & Hair dryers
Water cooler
Storage water heaters
Lithium ion batteries
Electric iron
Paint
GST slashed from 18% to 12%
Handbags including pouches and purses; jewellery box
Wooden frames for painting, photographs, mirrors etc
Art ware of cork (including articles of sholapith)
Stone art ware, stone inlay work
Ornamental framed mirrors
Glass statues (other than those of crystal)
Glass art ware (including pots, jars, votive, cask, cake cover, tulip bottle, vase)
Art ware of iron
Art ware of brass, copper/ copper alloys, electro plated with nickel/silver
Aluminium art ware
Handcrafted lamps (including panchloga lamp)
Worked vegetable or mineral carving, articles thereof, articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins or of modelling pastes etc, (including articles of lac, shellac)
Ganjifa card
Bamboo flooring
Zip and Slide Fasteners
Hand Operated Rubber Roller
Brass Kerosene Pressure Stove
GST slashed to 5%
Ethanol
Footwear costing up to Rs 1000
Solid bio fuel pellets
Chenille fabrics and other fabrics under heading 5801
Handloom dari
Phosphoric acid (fertilizer grade only)
Knitted cap/topi having retail sale value not exceeding Rs 1000
Handmade carpets and other handmade textile floor coverings (including namda/gabba)
Handmade lace
Hand-woven tapestries
Hand-made braids and ornamental trimming in the piece
Toran