From Ice Cream To Air-Conditioners: What Gets Cheaper In GST 2.0

From Ice Cream To Air-Conditioners: What Gets Cheaper In GST 2.0

GST 2.0: Essential items like butter, ghee, dry nuts, ice cream, biscuits, and cereals become more affordable under the new tax structure.

New Delhi:

A major transformation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system is scheduled to launch on September 22. This comprehensive reform, dubbed GST 2.0, represents a significant effort to streamline the tax structure, lower prices on everyday necessities, and create more rational tax categories across different industry sectors.

The revised GST framework consolidates tax rates into three main brackets: 5 percent for essential goods and services, 18 percent as the standard rate applicable to most items, and 40 percent for luxury or "sin" products including premium automobiles, tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages.

Here's What Gets Cheaper In GST 2.0

Food And Beverages

Chapati, paranthas, ultra-high temperature milk, chena/paneer, pizza bread, khakra: Zero tax.

Common items (butter, ghee, dry nuts, sausages, meat, sugar confectionery, jam, fruit juice, ice cream, biscuits, cereals): 5 percent.

Plant-based and soya milk drinks: 5 percent.

Other fats and cheese: 5 percent.

Beauty And Fitness Services

Salons, spas, gyms, health clubs, yoga: 5 percent.

Household And Personal Care

Tooth powder, shampoo, talcum powder, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, hair oil, kitchenware, tableware, utensils, umbrellas, bicycles, bamboo furniture: 5 percent.

Consumer electronics (Air-Conditioners, TVs, dishwashers): 18 percent.

Stationery And Footwear

Maps, charts, globes, pencils, crayons, exercise books, erasers: no tax.

Footwear and textiles: 5 percent.

Healthcare

Life-saving drugs, medical devices, thermometers, oxygen, diagnostic kits, glucometers, corrective spectacles: 5 percent or nil.

Insurance And Travel

Life and health insurance: Zero tax.

Third-party goods vehicle insurance: 5 percent.

Hotel rooms up to Rs 7,500, economy flight tickets: 5 percent.

Vehicles And Auto Components

Motorcycles up to 350 cc: 18 percent, down from 28 percent.

Small hybrid cars: benefit from lower rates.

Electric vehicles: 5 percent GST.

Auto components: 18 percent, down from 28 percent.

Small petrol, LPG, CNG vehicles and diesel up to 1,500 cc: 18 percent.

Construction And Machinery

Cement: 18 percent.

Sewing machines and parts: 5 percent.

Agricultural machinery, trailers, fertiliser inputs, biopesticides, tractor components: 5 percent.

The restructured GST system also implements updated tax schedules, classifying goods and services to ensure greater transparency and consistency in tax application.