31st GST Council Meeting: Rate Reduction Likely on Products Having 28% Rate

The GST Council will most probably bring down the 28% rate in its upcoming meeting by reducing the GST rate on construction items like – cement.

An official told “The idea is to keep only those items in the 28 per cent slab which are used for the luxury purpose and demerit goods. The final call will be taken by the Council”.

When GST (Goods and Services Tax) was implemented on July 1, 2017, there were 226 goods in the 28% slab. The council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley along with the state ministers, has reduced the 28% slab by cutting the GST rate on 191 goods from last one and a half year, and only 35 items are now remaining in the 28% slab.

In the July 2018 meeting, the GST Council again revised the 28% slab in which they cut down the rates of paints and varnishes, and on daily-use items like perfumes, hair dryers, cosmetics, toiletries, shavers, lithium-ion batteries, mixer grinder, vacuum cleaners to 18 per cent slab.

The remaining 35 goods left in 28% slab are cement, automobile equipment, automobile parts, tyres, aircraft, motor vehicles, yachts, etc.

If the taxes on cement are cut down then it will improve the housing and construction industry and also will have a positive influence on employment generation.

In the first eight months (April-November) of the 2018 fiscal year, the government collected the revenues higher than Rs 7.76 lakh crore from GST. The budget of 2018-2019 has been evaluated as the Rs 13.48 lakh crore which is approx Rs 1.12 lakh crore per month.

The next 31st GST Council Meeting will be held on December 22, 2018.