GST: Here's what will become costlier, or cheaper

Come July 18, 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be applicable on bank cheque book/loose leaf cheques and 12 per cent on maps, atlas, and globes.

Similarly, unbranded but pre-packed curd, lassi, butter milk, food items, grains etc will be brought under the GST net from the exemption list.

Writing, printing, or drawing ink will also become costlier.

The rate rationalisation decision was taken at the two-day 47th GST Council Meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, that started in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the GST rates on medical items like ostomy and orthopaedic appliances - 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, and intraocular lens - has come down to five per cent from 12 per cent.

The GST for transport of good and passengers by ropeway is down to five per cent from 18 per cent and the renting of truck/goods carriage where cost of fuel is included brought down by six per cent to 12 per cent.

Read | Centre hikes GST on household items amid inflation concern

The other items for which GST rates has been increased are printing, writing or drawing ink (12 per cent to 18 per cent), knives with cutting blades, paper knives, pencil sharpeners and blades therefor, spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers etc (12 per cent to 18 per cent), power driven pumps primarily designed for handling water such as centrifugal pumps, deep tube-well turbine pumps, submersible pumps; bicycle pumps (12 per cent to 18 per cent).

The rate on machines for cleaning, sorting or grading seed, and grain pulses, machinery used in milling industry or for the working of cereals etc, 'pawan chakki', or air-based atta chakki, wet grinder goes up from five per cent to 18 per cent.

Machines for cleaning, sorting or grading eggs, fruit or other agricultural produce and its parts, milking machines and dairy machinery will have rates going up from 12 per cent to 18 per cent.

LED lamps, lights and fixture, their metal printed circuits board, drawing and marking instruments move up from 12 per cent to 18 per cent and solar water heater and systems, prepared/finished leather/chamois leather/composition leathers from five per cent to 12 per cent.

In respect of the services, the rates have been revised upwards in the case of services supplied by a foreman in a chit fund, job work in relation to processing of hides, skins and leather, leather goods and footwear, manufacture of clay bricks, and works contract for roads, bridges, railways, metro, effluent treatment plant, crematorium and others.

The concessional rates for electronic waste, petroleum, and coal bed methane has also been increased.

Exemption on transport of passengers by air to and from North East states and Bagdogra is being restricted to economy class.

Hotel accommodation, priced upto Rs 1,000 per day, shall be taxed at 12 per cent and room rent (excluding ICU) exceeding Rs 5,000 per day per patient charged by a hospital shall be taxed to the extent of amount charged for the room at five per cent without input tax credit.

Tax exemption on training or coaching in recreational activities relating to arts or culture, or sports is being restricted to such services when supplied by an individual.

Exemption on following services is being withdrawn - transportation by rail or a vessel of railway equipment and material, storage or warehousing of commodities which attract tax (nuts, spices, copra, jaggery, cotton etc.), fumigation in a warehouse of agricultural produce, services by the RBI, the IRDA, the SEBI, and the FSSAI, GSTN, renting of residential dwelling to business entities (registered persons), and services provided by the cord blood banks by way of preservation of stem cells.