The clothes, jewellery rate conundrum

 Fifty-year-old Gunjan Kumar, who works in a private firm, is happy that he has been able to save Rs 2,000 when he purchased a new air conditioner a few days ago.

Last week, he received an SMS which offered him a heavy discount for consumer durables if purchased before the GST (Goods and Services Tax) was implemented from July 1.

“Not only ACs but other electronic gadgets, including laptops, which currently attract 6% tax, will attract 28% tax post GST,” Kumar said, as his cousin purchased a laptop.

While many people are unaware of the exact rate of GST, several women were utterly confused about what will be the GST on clothes and jewellery. “I have been told that the jewellers will charge 18% GST on making charges which was nil till now,” said Shalini Sinha, a homemaker.

But working women like Neelam Agarwal is happy that her food bill is going to come down from July 1 onwards. “At present, one has to pay nearly 23% taxes, which includes VAT, service tax, service charge, Krishi Cess, Swach Bharat Cess etc. But from July 1 onwards, the food bill will attract 18% GST, a saving of nearly 5%,” said Rakesh Kumar, manager of popular food joint Jee Huzur.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar's Cabinet approved the proposal to stop checking of vehicles by Commercial Taxes Department at six integrated border check posts as part of the GST rollout. “Under GST, no checking is to be conducted at permanent check posts,” said Principal Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Brajesh Mehrotra.

State Commercial Taxes Minister Bijendra Yadav will represent  Bihar in Parliament when the GST is ushered in on June 30 midnight.