31st GST Council meeting: TV, tyres, power banks to become cheaper, effective from 1st Jan 2019

New Delhi, Dec 22: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said 28 per cent slab rate is only applicable on 34 items now, these are luxury items. The 31st GST Council meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister was held at Vigyan Bhavan on Saturday.

After the meeting, Jaitley said, "Monitors and Television screens, Tyres, Power banks of Lithium-ion batteries have brought down from 28 per cent to 18 cent slab. Accessories for carriages for specially abled persons have been brought down to 5 per cent.

"Movie tickets up to Rs 100 brought down to 12 per cent and above Rs 100 has been brought down to 18 per cent from 28 per cent. There is no GST cut on cement and auto parts," he said.

The three items which will now attract a 12 per cent tax under GST, instead of the existing 18 per cent, include articles of natural cork, and corks roughly squared or de-bagged. Marble rubble was shifted from 18 per cent to 5 per cent tax slab.

V Narayanasamy, Puducherry Chief Minister, said, " 33 items have come down from 18 per cent to 12 per cent and 5 per cent as they are common man's consumption goods.

"The original demand by Congress that all goods should come down to 18 per cent and below except luxury items has been agreed by the Government. Except for 34 items, all other will come down to 18% and below," said Narayanswamy.

The all-powerful GST Council has met 30 times and taken 918 decisions related to laws, rules and rates for the new tax regime within a span of just over two years.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which comprises state finance ministers and Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue as members, was set up on September 15, 2016, as the country's first 'federal institution'.

"Till date, GST Council has taken 918 decisions related to GST laws, rules, rates, compensation, taxation threshold etc. More than 96 per cent of the decisions have already been implemented through 294 notifications issued by the Central Government," the ministry said in a statement.

The GST, which replaced 17 central and state levies including factory-gate, excise duty, service tax and local sales tax or VAT, is India's biggest tax reform in 70 years of independence and will help modernise Asia's third-largest economy.

(With PTI inputs)