In a significant relief for the common man ahead of the festive season, various tax rates under the new GST reform have been reduced, effective September 22. This reform will benefit all sections, as prices for daily essentials to luxury electronics like TVs and ACs will drop.
Daily, from morning to night, people shop for essentials like milk, bread, and vegetables. Often, on their way home from work, they pick up items like milk, bread, eggs, cigarettes, gutka, and vegetables. Under the new GST reform, the prices of these items will decrease. Let's talk about 10 everyday items whose GST rates have been slashed.
Earlier, milk and vegetables were not subject to GST, and this continues, meaning no price changes here.
The GST on cheese has been reduced from 12% to 0%. If you buy a 200g pack of cheese for 90 rupees, you will now save 10 rupees.
Eggs also remain GST-free.
Dairy products like butter and ghee now fall under the 5% slab down from 12%. Hence, a 500g pack of butter, which used to cost 230 rupees, will now be about 20 rupees cheaper.
GST on pizza and bread has moved to the zero category from 5%. A loaf of bread costing 20 rupees will now be 1 rupee less.
GST has dropped from 18% to 5% on chocolates, biscuits, and sweets. Therefore, a chocolate bar that was priced at 50 rupees might now be available for 44 rupees.
Tax on fruit juices and coconut water has decreased from 12% to 5%.
Hair oil, shampoo, toothpaste, shaving products, and talcum powder have seen tax reductions from 18% to 5%. Hair oil previously priced at 100 rupees can now be purchased for 87 rupees.
Toilet soap bars have a reduced GST rate of 5% from 18%.
Toothbrushes and dental floss also see a tax reduction from 18% to 5%.
Shaving cream/lotions and aftershaves now have a 5% GST rate instead of 18%.
Suppose your daily shopping amounts to 1000 rupees, and these have an average GST rate of 12%. With the new GST rate, average tax on these items will be just 5%. Therefore, you would save about 80 rupees in your daily shopping.
Buying goods worth 880 rupees with an average of 12% GST = 120 rupees, totaling a 1000 rupee purchase.
Now with 880 rupees at a 5% GST = 44 rupees, totaling 924 rupees purchase.
Total savings = 120-44 = 76 rupees.
Items like Air Conditioners now see a tax reduction from 28% to 18%. Additionally, dishwashers, TVs (LED, LCD), monitors, and projectors have moved to the 18% category from 28%.
Tractors (excluding road tractors with an engine capacity exceeding 1800cc) have a reduced GST rate from 12% to 5%, previous rate for tractor tires/tubes was dropped from 18% to 5%. Equipment for soil preparation/harvesting and threshing, composting machines, sprinkler/drip irrigation/lawn/sport rollers and bio-pesticides, and micronutrients have reduced GST rates from 12% to 5%.
Items like cold drinks, private jets, yachts, cricket match tickets, pan masala, alcohol, luxury cars, and other sin goods are becoming more expensive. A 40% GST will now apply to these items.
