GST council reduces taxes on 66 items

Jaitley said tax rate on insulin has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent.

With the date for rolling out the GST fast approaching, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the GST council has reduced tax levels of 66 goods after having received representation for around 133 goods.

Briefing the media after the 16th meeting of the GST council in the national capital, Jaitley said tax rate on insulin has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent while that for school bags has been reduced from 28 percent to 18 percent.

Speaking on the tax rates on movie tickets, Jaitely said, "Rate of 28% will be maintained for all cinema tickets above Rs. 100 and below Rs. 100 it will be reduced to 18%."

The next meeting of the council will be held on Jun 18 in the National Capital.

Earlier, the government has exempted cereals, pulses, atta, maida and besan from the GST, which will be implemented from July 1. Milk, vegetables and fruits, puffed rice, salt, organic manure, animal feed, fire wood, raw silk, wool, jute and hand-operated agriculture equipment too will be zero-rated under the new indirect tax regime.

GST is touted as the single largest tax reform since India's independence in 1947. It aims to subsume the various state and central taxes that are levied currently on goods and services, bringing India under a single tax regime. GST is expected to add 2 per cent to the country's GDP or gross domestic product.

OneIndia News