GST Rate Hike: Know What Gets Costlier And Cheaper From Today

New Delhi: Some pre-packaged food and a number of other items will get more expensive from today as they have been brought under the ambit of the Goods and Service Tax (GST). The decision was taken at the 47th meeting of the GST Council.

Single packages of food items like cereals, pulses and flour weighing up to 25 kg will be considered as ‘prepackaged and labelled’, and liable to 5 per cent GST from July 18, the tax department has said.

GST will also apply on a package that contains multiple retail packages, for example, a package containing 10 retail packs of flour of 10 kg each.

Costlier goods

Pre-packed, pre-labelled curd, lassi and buttermilk
Pulses, cereals like rice, wheat, flour and other such items, weighing below 25 kg or 25 litres
Package containing 10 retail packs of flour of 10 kg each.

“The exemption was withdrawn on pre-packaged items even if unbranded to monitor branded suppliers/ manufacturers who escaped registration and claimed exemption of GST by keeping goods unlabelled,” Archit Gupta, CEO and founder of Clear told News18.com.

Costlier services

Hospital room rent (excluding ICU) exceeding Rs 5000 per day per patient will be taxed to the extent of the amount charged for the room at 5 per cent without ITC.
Hotel rooms under Rs 1,000 per day under the 12 per cent GST slab.
18 per cent GST on fees charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form)
The prices of LED Lights, fixtures, and LED lamps are set to see a price hike as the GST council has recommended a correction in the inverted duty structure from 12 per cent to 18 per cent.

Cheaper now

No GST on defence items imported by private entities/vendors, when the end-user is the Defence forces.
Transport of goods and passengers via ropeway will get cheaper, GST slashed from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.
Renting of goods carriage with operators
Splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability; intraocular lens.