By the rates announced so far, it seems consumers can rest assured most items will become cheaper
Latest news : The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rehime is set to be rolled out from July 1, more than 11 years after a formal process to introduce it began. The GST Council on Thursday fixed rates for 1,211 items. In the second half of the Council meet, on Friday, rates of services and products like beedi, cigarettes, tobacco, footwear, gold, textile, handloom, handicraft, agricultural equipment and biscuits, will be discussed.
It appears from the first set of announced rates that consumers can rest assured most of the items will become cheaper (for now) as the new rates will be lower than the current effective levies.
Mobiles phones, however, might get costlier, with the government imposing a 12% GST, taking away the benefit under duty differential that was being offered to local manufacturers. So, under the new GST rate, while imported phones will become cheaper, most locally manufactured ones will get costlier.
Foodgrains will cost less as the GST Council decided to exempt the daily-use commodities from the levy.
GST promises to stitch together a common national market by replacing a string of central and local levies such as excise, value added tax, octroi, service tax.
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