Previous Council Meeting (14th) –May 18-19, 2017 (Srinagar)
Today’s Council Meeting (15th) –June 03, 2017 (New Delhi)
Upcoming Council Meeting (16th) – June 11, 2017
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday chaired the 15th meeting of the GST Council which has decided tax rates on essential items such as gold, textiles, packaged food, Bidis, Solar panels, Biscuits and footwear among others. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council cleared the pending rules (Transition provisions and Returns) for the rollout of the new indirect tax regime from July 1. All states have agreed to the July 1 rollout timeline except West Bengal.
“We were discussing the rules and (they) have been completed. Transition rules have been cleared and everybody has agreed for July 1 roll out,” Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said while speaking to reporters.
The GST Council also decided to amend the transition rules allowing traders and retailers to make claim of
- 60 % against the CGST or SGST dues where the tax rate exceeds 18 %.
- For tax rate below 18 %, it will be retained at 40 %.
The draft transition law provided that once GST is implemented, a company can claim credit of up to 40 % of their Central GST dues for excise duty paid on stock held by businesses prior to the rollout.
Several dealers are choosing to wait and watch rather than buy and holding on to inventories and lobbied the government seeking an increase in the credit limit.
For transition stock, the government will refund 100% excise duty for goods costing above Rs 25,000, bears a brand name of the manufacturer and are serially numbered like TV, fridge or car chassis.
Apparel upto Rs 1000, Biscuits & footwear will get cheaper, while gold will slightly costlier from next month
| S.No. | Description |
| 1 | Trademarked Packaged Items At 5 %
Packaged items sold under registered trademark would be taxed at 5% |
| 2 | Footwear To Be Taxed In Two Categories
Footwear priced under Rs 500:- @ 5%, from an existing rate of 9.5% Footwear priced over Rs 500 :- @ 18% from an existing rate of 23.10%-29.58 % |
| 3 | Beedis At 28%
Beedi leaf to be taxed at 18 %, and the beedis itself would be at 28 %. There will be no additional cess on beedis. |
| 4 | Readymade Apparel At 12 %
• Natural yarn was to be taxed at 5 %, • Man-made textiles would carry a rate of 18 %, • Man-made apparel up to Rs 1,000 will attract a 5% (lower than the existing 7%), • All fabrics will be charged 5 % Readymade garments would be taxed at Costing Above RS 1000 :-12 %, Apparel costing below Rs 1,000:- 5 % Silk & Jute fibre have been exempted |
| 5 | Gold To Be Taxed At 3 %
Gold, a contentious item, and gold jewellery will be taxed at 3% Rough Diamonds To Be Taxed At 0.25 % Rough diamonds have been fitted with a nominal rate of 0.25% Gold will become slightly costlier as the current incidence is 2% Input tax credit can be claimed for gold jewellery manufacture. |
| 6 | Silver And Processed Diamonds Too At 3 %
Silver and processed diamonds too will be taxed at 3 %, like gold |
| 7 | All Biscuits To Be Taxed At 18 %
All biscuits will be taxed at a rate of 18 % under GST. Currently, biscuits costing less than Rs 100/kg attract an average tax of 20.6%, while those above this price attract 23.11% |
| Others:‑
Solar panel equipment will be taxed at 5% Lottery tax is yet to be decided. Agriculture equipment at two slabs of 5 % and 12 % |
–
| 0% | 5% | 12% | 18% | 28% |
| Silk, jute
All other Pooja Samagri Indian National Flag |
Solar panels
Cotton and natural fiber Apparel below Rs 1,000 Footwear below Rs 500 Packaged food items sold under registered trademarks Agri machinery Pooja Samagri (Mishri, Batasha, Bura, Lobhan) Handmade safety matches |
Apparel above Rs 1,000
Readymade garments |
Tendu leaves
man-made textile Biscuits Footwear above Rs 500 |
Bidis |
What Next?
- Review the rates based on industry representations in case the fitment committee finds that there is a substantial increase from the present burden.
- It will also take up the rules for e-way bill and accounts and records.
[Views & Opinions Expressed are strictly personal]
Countdown starts for GPWR GST –The Conclusion
Author Bio
