GST Council announces major tax cut: Here's what gets cheaper, and by how much

In the biggest GST rejig yet, the GST Council slashed tax rates on over 200 items, from chewing gum to chocolates, to beauty products, wigs and wrist watches, on Friday in a bid to provide relief to consumers and businesses amid economic slowdown.

In the 23rd GST Council meeting, as many as 178 items of daily use were moved from the higher tax bracket of 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while a uniform 5 per cent tax was prescribed for all restaurants, both air- conditioned and non-AC, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said after the GST Council meeting here.

Below is the list of recommendations made by the GST Council.

Pruning of 28% tax slab

a) GST rate cut from 28% to 18%

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. Articles of 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) GST rate cut from 28% to 12%

1. Wet grinders consisting of stone as grinder
2. Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles
3. Other changes of GST rates on goods:

Other changes in GST rates

a) GST rate cut from 18% to 12%

i. Condensed milk

ii. Refined sugar and sugar cubes

iii. Pasta

iv. Curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasoning

v. Diabetic food

vi. Medicinal grade oxygen

vii. Printing ink

viii. Hand bags and shopping bags of jute and cotton

ix. Hats (knitted or crocheted)

x. Parts of specified agricultural, horticultural, forestry, harvesting or threshing machinery

xi. Specified parts of sewing machine

xii. Spectacles frames

xiii. Furniture wholly made of bamboo or cane

b) GST rate cut from 18% to 5%

i. Puffed rice chikki, peanut chikki, sesame chikki, revdi, tilrevdi, khaza, kazuali, groundnut sweets gatta, kuliya

ii. Flour of potatoes put up in unit container bearing a brand name

iii. Chutney powder

iv. Fly ash

v. Sulphur recovered in refining of crude

vi. Fly ash aggregate with 90% or more fly ash content

c) GST rate cut from 12% to 5%

i. Desiccated coconut

ii. Narrow woven fabric including cotton newar [with no refund of unutilised input tax credit]

iii. Idli, dosa batter

iv. Finished leather, chamois and composition leather

v. Coir cordage and ropes, jute twine, coir products

vi. Fishing net and fishing hooks

vii. Worn clothing

viii. Fly ash brick

d) GST rate cut from 5% to nil

i. Guar meal

ii. Hop cone (other than grounded, powdered or in pellet form)

iii. Certain dried vegetables such as sweet potatoes, maniac

iv. Unworked coconut shell

v. Fish frozen or dried (not put up in unit container bearing a brand name)

vi. Khandsari sugar

e) Miscellaneous

i. GST rates on aircraft engines from 28%/18% to 5%, aircraft tyres from 28% to 5% and aircraft seats from 28% to 5%.

ii. GST rate on bangles of lac/shellac from 3% GST rate to Nil.