GST to reduce prices of daily use products and LPG

Goods and services tax (GST), India’s biggest tax reform since independence is going to lower down the cost of daily use items like note books, domestic LPG, aluminium foils, insulin, agarbatti and others, once it rolls out from July 1.

A majority of these goods have a GST rate much lower than what is being levied on them presently in form of combined indirect taxes by the Centre and states, like central excise duty rates, embedded central excise duty rates, service tax post-clearance embedding, VAT rates or weighted average VAT rates, cascading of VAT over excise duty and tax incidence on account of CST, Octroi, Entry Tax, among others.

However, the flat GST rate decided by the GST council would be lighter on consumers’ pockets.

These items that have lower GST decided by the council are milk powder, curd, butter milk, Unbranded Natural Honey, dairy spreads, cheese, spices, tea, wheat, rice, flour, and spices, groundnut oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, sugar, palmyra jaggery, sugar confectionery, pasta, spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, fruit and vegetable items, several food products, pickle, murabba, chutney, sweetmeats, ketchup and sauces.

Other than these, toppings, spreads and sauces, instant food mixes, mineral water, ice, cement, coal, kerosene PDS, LPG domestic, insulin, agarbatti, tooth powder, hair oil, toothpaste, kajal, soap, X-ray films for medical use and diagnostic kits and reagents are also going to go less expensive with GST.