New Delhi : The Goods and Services Tax Council is looking at cutting tax on some non-sin consumer durable goods that are currently taxed at the maximum 28%, two finance ministry officials said. The GST Council, which met in Hyderabad on Saturday, had discussed laying down the guidelines for reviewing tax on some “goods of mass consumption”, currently under the 28% slab, the official said. “There was a discussion paper floated for the Council to give its views on reducing GST rates on some non-sin items, which are currently under the 28% slab,” one of the officials told Cogencis. The Council may look at reducing tax on some mass-consumption consumer goods to 18%, the official said. Consumer durable goods, including refrigerators and televisions, are currently charged at 28%.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in the past said that some of the items in the luxury category like televisions and refrigerators are mass consumed. However, a cut in tax rates on these items is likely only in the next financial year starting April because of the revenue implications.
The GST Council was of the view that it was too early to cut rates, the second official said. “First we must wait for the new indirect tax regime to stabilise and analyse the collections for few months,” the official said. According to an internal analysis by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, the revenues of the central government may fall by 200 bln rupees in 2017-18 (Apr-Mar) if the tax on consumer durables is cut to 18% from 28%.
