Come 1 July, India hopes to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and here’s the rate schedule for 1,211 goods as released by the Indirect Tax Department.
The list, approved by the GST Council, includes most goods except footwear, biscuits and a few others. The GST Council, comprising Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his state counterparts, has already fitted almost all goods and services in the tax brackets of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.
While the rate schedule makes for complex reading, it lists goods in all their avatars – from iron pellets to rods, consumers will be keen to know what rates apply to everyday items.
So here goes... from milk, butter, ghee to artificial fur items, video game consoles, coronary stents, artificial kidneys and of course, refrigerators and motor cars, we've covered it all.
Nil or 0 Percent
- Fresh milk
- Fresh fruits
- Cereals
- Puffed rice, papad, bread
- Aquatic/poultry/cattle feed
- Salt
- Human blood
- Contraceptives
- Condoms
- Firewood
- Printed books
- Bangles (non-precious metals)
- Agricultural implements
- ‘Puja samagri’ – rudraksh, wooden khadau, panchamrit, tulsi-kanthi mala, panchgavya, sacred thread and vibhuti
- Chandan tika
- Unbranded honey
- Wick for diya
5 Percent
- Branded paneer
- Frozen vegetables
- Coffee, tea
- Branded cereals
- Soyabean, groundnut, sunflower seeds
- Vegetable fats & oils
- Beet sugar, cane sugar
- Cocoa beans, shells, paste
- Bakery mixes, doughs, pizza bread, vermicelli, rusks
- Sweetmeats
- All ores and concentrates
- Coal
- Lignite
- Peat
- Tar
- Kerosene PDS
- LPG for domestic consumption by IOC, HPCL, BPCL
- Nuclear fuel
- Nuclear grade sodium
- Heavy water and other nuclear fuels
- Compressed air
- Animal or human blood vaccines: 5%
- Diagnostic kits for detection of all types of hepatitis
- Desferrioxamine injection or deferiprone
- Cyclosporin
- Medicaments (including veterinary medicaments) used in bio-chemic systems and not bearing a brand name
- Oral re-hydration salts
- Drugs or medicines, including their salts and esters and diagnostic test kits, specified in list 3 or list 4 appended to the notification no.12/2012- customs, dated the 17th March 2012
- Formulations manufactured from the bulk drugs specified in list 1 of notification no.12/2012-central excise, dated the 17th March 2012
- Handmade safety matches
- Newsprint
- Sand lime bricks, fly ash bricks
- Steel utensils
- Geometry boxes
- Iron/ steel/ ferrous alloy - kerosene burners and stoves
- Iron/ steel/ ferrous alloy - table or kitchen or other household articles
- Copper utensils
- Table or kitchen or other household articles of copper
- Hand pumps
- Solar water heater
- Renewable energy devices
- Boats, fishing vehicles
- Coronary stents
- Artificial kidneys
- Broomsticks, jhadoo
In the textiles category, blankets and travelling rugs, curtains, bed linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen, of terry towelling or similar terry fabrics costing below Rs 1,000 will attract a 5 percent tax. Also napkins, mosquito nets, sacks and bags, life jackets costing below Rs 1,000 would be taxed at 5 percent.
Silk and jute yarns have been exempt but cotton, natural fibres and all other yarns will be levied a 5 percent GST rate. All categories of fabric, except khadi yarn – which has been exempt – will attract a 5 percent rate.
12 Percent
- Frozen meat
- Butter, ghee, cheese
- Dry fruits
- Meats and fish preparations
- Fruits and vegetable juices
- Ready to eat namkeen/bhujiya
- Milk beverages
- Bio-gas
- Medicinal grade hydrogen peroxide
- Anaesthetics
- Potassium iodate
- Iodine
- Steam
- Glands and other organs for organo-therapeutic uses
- Ayurvaedic, Unani, Homoeopathic siddha or Biochemic systems medicaments, put up for retail sale
- Sterile suture materials
- Sterile catgut
- Sterile suture material
- Sterile dental yarns
- Sterile tissue adhesives for surgical wound closure
- Dental haemostatics
- Fertilisers
- Fountain pen ink, ball pen ink
- Tooth powder
- Agarbatti
- Candles
- Silicon wafers
- Natural cork Wood pulp
- Children’s drawing books
- Calendars
- Ceramic tableware, kitchenware, toilet articles
- Lenses used in spectacles
- Barbed wire of iron and steel
- Screw, bolts, nuts
- Sewing/knitting needles
- LPG stoves
- Aluminium utensils
- Pencil sharpeners, knives
- Power driven water pumps
- Cellphones
- Tractors
- Electric vehicles
- Bicycles
- Spectacle lens
- LED lights
- Sports goods
- Art works
- Antiques
18 Percent
- Condensed milk
- Refined sugar
- Infant use preparations, pasta, corn flakes, waffles, pastries and cakes
- Preserved vegetables
- Jams, jellies
- Tea concentrates, sauces, soups, ice cream, instant food mixes, sharbet
- Mineral/aerated water (without sugar)
- LPG for domestic supply by IOC, HPCL, BPCL
- Petroleum jelly, Paraffin wax
- Petroleum coke, Petroleum bitumen
- Nicotine polacrilex gum
- Essential oils
- Hair oil
- Dentrifices -toothpaste
- Soap
- Whey proteins & fitness supplements
- Gelatin
- Propellant powder
- Insecticides, fungicides, disinfectants
- Plastic products
- Hot water bottles
- Toilet paper
- Notebooks
- Helmets
- Hats and other headgears
- Bird feathers
- Copper bars, rods, wires
- Copper screws, nuts, bolts
- Nickel bars, rods, wires
- Nickel screw, nuts, bolts
- Nickel tubes, pipes, netting
- Aluminium ingots, rods, wires
- Lead plates, sheets, strips
- Zinc goods
- Tin bars, rods
- Padlocks, locks
- Braille typewriters
- Cellphones
28 Percent
- Cocoa butter, fats, oils, powder, chocolates
- Instant, aroma coffee
- Coffee concentrates, custard powder
- Pan masala
- Protein concentrates, sugar syrups
- Aerated water (with sugar)
- Paints and varnishes
- Artists’, students’ or signboard colours
- Putty, wall fillings
- Perfumes
- Beauty or makeup preparations
- Skincare preparations, including sunscreen
- Manicure or pedicure preparations
- Shampoos, hair cream, hair dyes
- Dental floss
- Toothpaste
- Deodorants
- Detergent
- Aftershave
- Shaving cream
- Liquid soap
- Plastic products
- Rubber tyres
- Leather bags
- Fur & artificial fur apparel
- Particle board
- Plywood
- Wall paper
- Headbands, felt hats
- Wigs, false beards, eyelashes
- Artificial flowers
- Marble
- Granite
- Plaster
- Mica
- Calcerous stone
- Ceramic tiles
- Tempered glass
- Stoves (other than kerosene stove and LPG stoves)
- Barbecues, braziers, gas-rings
- Electrical hot plates
- Electrical heaters
- Aluminium foil
- Razors
- Manicure, pedicure sets
- Airconditioners
- Refrigerators
- Storage water heaters
- Dish washing machines
- Printer, photocopier, fax machines
- Electric shavers
- Motor cars
- Motor cycles
- Yachts
- Wrist watches
- Pianos
- Revolvers
- Furniture
- Video game consoles
- Exercise equipment
GST Compensation Cess
- Pan masala: 60 percent
- Aerated waters: 12 percent
- Cigarettes: 5 percent + Rs 1,591 – 4,970/1,000 sticks
- Small cars (less than 4 metres, petrol): 1 percent
- Small cars (less than 4 metres, diesel): 3 percent
- Mid to large cars: 15 percent
- Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs): 15 percent
- Hybrid motor vehicles: 15 percent
- Motorcycles: 3 percent
- Aircraft (personal use): 3 percent
- Yachts: 3 percent
(This article was originally published in BloombergQuint)
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