New Delhi: The GST Council on Saturday cut tax 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 decision also included rationalisation of the highest 28 per cent slab. 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 benefitted ... 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. "GST Council today approved reduction in rates of 88 goods and services. Money in the hands of all sections of society-- the poor, households, women, farmers and senior citizens," Goyal tweeted late night.


Here's the list of what got cheaper with the revised tax rates:

• Refrigerator, washing machine, small screen TV, storage water heaters, paints and varnishes, will henceforth attract 18 per cent GST as against 28 per cent at present.
• Tax rate on ethanol has been slashed to 5 per cent from 18 per cent at present.
• Footwear costing up to Rs 1,000 will now attract 5 per cent GST. So far, footwear up to Rs 500 attracted 5 per cent GST, and those having retail sale price of over Rs 500 attracted 18 per cent rate.
• Sanitary Napkins, which attract 12 per cent tax, and fortified milk, which was taxed at 18 per cent, have been exempt from the new indirect tax.
• Idols made of stone, marble, wood, rakhi not embedded with stone, phool jhadu, sal leaves, too have been exempted.

In his first GST Council meeting since he took charge as the Finance Minister in May this year, Goyal said that the meeting has taken a number of decisions unanimously. "Simplification and rationalisation has been given maximum priority," Goyal said while briefing reporters after the 28th GST Council meeting.

Goyal also introduced a move which will benefit 93 per cent of the GST registered taxpayers:

• Goyal allowed businesses with turn over of up to Rs 5 crore to file quarterly returns. They will have to, however, pay taxes monthly.
• So far, businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore were permitted to file returns quarterly.
• Sources, however, said the tax rate reduction is likely to cost around Rs 8,000-10,000 crore annually to the exchequer.

Hotel industry has been given major relief

• In the services sector, the hotel industry too has been given major relief as GST on accommodation service will now be based on transaction value instead of declared value.
• GST at the rate of 28 per cent in levied if hotel room rent exceeds Rs 7,500. Between Rs 2,500 to below Rs 7,500 GST is levied at 18 per cent and that of Rs 1,000 and below Rs 2,500 it is 12 per cent.

GST on supply of e-books

• The tax rate on supply of e-books has been cut to 5 per cent from 18 per cent.

The Council has also decided to defer implementation of reverse charge mechanism (RCM) by a year to September 30, 2019. The RCM, which was already on hold till September 2018, is considered as an anti-evasion tool.

The Council has also cleared over 40 amendments, including increasing threshold for composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore and allowing multiple registration for businesses, to the GST law.

The next meeting of the Council is slated on August 4, which will discuss issues relating to the MSME sector as well as ways to incentivise digital transaction via Rupay cards and BHIM app. In its meeting in November last year, the Council had reduced rates in over 178 items in the 28 per cent tax bracket.

(With inputs from PTI)