GST rates: Five key points you must know

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The GST Council on Thursday finalised the 4-tier GST tax structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

Chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the council finalised the slabs with with lower rates for essential items and the highest for luxury and de-merits goods that would also attract an additional cess.

The GST rates will come as a relief for the common man as essential items including food will be taxed at zero rate.

However, tobacco products, soft drinks and SUVs are set to cost more with the council imposing sin tax of over 40 percent on them.

Here are five key points of the GST rate slab that one must know:

• Essential items such as food be taxed at zero rate. It means that the price of essential commodities will not be hiked.

• Common used items will be taxed at just 5 percent, the lowest of all while there would be two standard rates of 12 and 18 percent under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

• Items that are currently taxed at 30-31 percent will now be tax just 28 percent, thus making them cheaper.

• Sin tax of over 40 percent has been imposed on soft drinks, tobacco products, Pan Masala and SUVs thus making them costlier.

• The cess collected from this be used for compensating states for any loss of revenue during the first five years of implementation of GST.