GST Council in its 23 Meeting at Guwahati,Assam on 10th November,2017 had taken a major decision to reduce the GST rates on more than 200 items falling in Goods Category:
In another significant change, the GST Council lowered the tax rate of restaurants to a uniform 5 per cent from 12 per cent on non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent on air-conditioned ones, a move that will bring down the cost of eating out. But restaurants will not be entitled to the benefit of input tax credit (ITC). Restaurants in hotels that charge a room tariff of Rs. 7,500 or more per day will be levied the GST rate of 18 per cent but input tax credit is allowed for them.
a) Goods on which the GST Council has recommended reduction in the rate from 28 per cent to 18 per cent include:
1) Wire, cables, insulated conductors, electrical insulators, electrical plugs, switches, sockets, fuses, relays, electrical connectors,
2) Electrical boards, panels, consoles, cabinets etc for electric control or distribution
3) Particle/fibre boards and ply wood. Article of wood, wooden frame, paving block
4) Furniture, mattress, bedding and similar furnishing,
5) Trunk, suitcase, vanity cases, brief cases, travelling bags and other hand bags, cases,
6) Detergents, washing and cleaning preparations,
7) Liquid or cream for washing the skin,
8) Shampoos; Hair cream, Hair dyes (natural, herbal or synthetic) and similar other goods; henna powder or paste, not mixed with any other ingredient,
9) Pre-shave, shaving or after-shave preparations, personal deodorants, bath preparations, perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations, room deodorisers
10) Perfumes and toilet waters,
11) Beauty or make-up preparations,
12) Fans, pumps, compressors,
13) Lamp and light fitting,
14) Primary cell and primary batteries,
15) Sanitary ware and parts thereof of all kind,
16) Articles of plastic, floor covering, baths, shower, sinks, washbasins, seats, sanitary ware of plastic,
17) Slabs of marbles and granite,
18) Goods of marble and granite such as tiles,
19) Ceramic tiles of all kinds,
20) Miscellaneous articles such as vacuum flasks, lighters,
21) Wrist watches, clocks, watch movement, watch cases, straps, parts,
22) Article of apparel & clothing accessories of leather, guts, furskin, artificial fur and other articles such as saddlery and harness for any animal,
23) Cutlery, stoves, cookers and similar non electric domestic appliances,
24) Razor and razor blades,
25) Multi-functional printers, cartridges,
26) Office or desk equipment,
27) Door, windows and frames of aluminium.,
28) Articles of plaster such as board, sheet,
29) Articles of cement or concrete or stone and artificial stone,
30) Articles of asphalt or slate,
31) Articles of mica,
32) Ceramic flooring blocks, pipes, conduit, pipe fitting,
33) Wall paper and wall covering,
34) Glass of all kinds and articles thereof such as mirror, safety glass, sheets, glassware
35) Electrical, electronic weighing machinery,
36) Fire extinguishers and fire extinguishing charge,
37) Fork lifts, lifting and handling equipment,
38) Bull dozers, excavators, loaders, road rollers,
39) Earth moving and levelling machinery,
40) Escalators,
41) Cooling towers, pressure vessels, reactors,
42) Crankshaft for sewing machine, tailor’s dummies, bearing housings, gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gaskets,
43) Electrical apparatus for radio and television broadcasting,
44) Sound recording or reproducing apparatus,
45) Signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for transports,
46) Physical exercise equipment, festival and carnival equipment, swings, shooting galleries, roundabouts, gymnastic and athletic equipment,
47) All musical instruments and their parts,
48) Artificial flowers, foliage and artificial fruits,
49) Explosive, anti-knocking preparation, fireworks,
50) Cocoa butter, fat, oil powder,
51) Extract, essence ad concentrates of coffee, miscellaneous food preparations,
52) Chocolates, Chewing gum / bubble gum,
53) Malt extract and food preparations of flour, groats, meal, starch or malt extract,
54) Waffles and wafers coated with chocolate or containing chocolate,
55) Rubber tubes and miscellaneous articles of rubber,
56) Goggles, binoculars, telescope,
57) Cinematographic cameras and projectors, image projector,
58) Microscope, specified laboratory equipment, specified scientific equipment such as for meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, geology,
59) Solvent, thinners, hydraulic fluids, anti-freezing preparation,
b) Goods on which the Council has recommended reduction in GST rate from 28% to 12%:
1) Wet grinders consisting of stone as grinder,
2) Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles,
(II) Other changes/rationalisation of GST rates on goods:
a) 18% to 12%
1) Condensed milk
2) Refined sugar and sugar cubes,
3) Pasta,
4) Curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasoning,
5) Diabetic food,
6) Medicinal grade oxygen,
7) Printing ink,
8) Hand bags and shopping bags of jute and cotton,
9) Hats (knitted or crocheted),
10) Parts of specified agricultural, horticultural, forestry, harvesting or threshing machinery
11) Specified parts of sewing machine,
12) Spectacles frames,
13) Furniture wholly made of bamboo or cane,
b) 18% to 5%
1) Puffed rice chikki, peanut chikki, sesame chikki, revdi, tilrevdi, khaza, kazuali, groundnut sweets gatta, kuliya,
2) Flour of potatoes put up in unit container bearing a brand name
3) Chutney powder,
4) Fly ash,
5) Sulphur recovered in refining of crude,
6) Fly ash aggregate with 90% or more fly ash content,
c) 12% to 5%,
1) Desiccated coconut,
2) Narrow woven fabric including cotton newar [with no refund of unutilised input tax credit]
3) Idli, dosa batter,
4) Finished leather, chamois and composition leather,
5) Coir cordage and ropes, jute twine, coir products,
6) Fishing net and fishing hooks,
7) Worn clothing,
8) Fly ash brick,
d) 5% to nil,
1) Guar meal
2) Hop cone (other than grounded, powdered or in pellet form),
3) Certain dried vegetables such as sweet potatoes, maniac,
4) Unworked coconut shell,
5) Fish frozen or dried (not put up in unit container bearing a brand name),
6) Khandsari sugar,
Other GST rate changes,
1) GST rates on aircraft engines from 28%/18% to 5%, aircraft tyres from 28% to 5% and aircraft seats from 28% to 5%.
2) GST rate on bangles of lac/shellac from 3% GST rate to Nil.
The PEN TALKS 