No surprises in GST rates, promises Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has promised that he would not be bringing any surprises in fixing tax rates under the new goods and services tax (GST) regime, which is all set to be rolled out from July 1.

Jaitley added that the tax rates will not be "significantly different" from what they currently are. However, he was firm in saying that whatever benefits companies have because of lesser rates, they should pass them on to consumer.

"Profit is not a bad word... but unfair enrichment is. And therefore the benefit of reduction in taxation is a benefit that consumers are entitled to. And that's not a principle that can be seriously contested," he said.

The tax rates would be finalised in a meeting of the GST Council, headed by Jaitley, which is scheduled to take place in Srinagar on May 18-19.

The GST Council has zeroed down to four rate categories of 5, 12, 18 and 28% to be charged on various categories of products.

Also read: Here’s how difficult the GST process was for the Modi government