The Centre has proposed that only two slabs for Goods and Services Tax (GST) be retained – 5 per cent and 18 percent – as per sources.
Under this proposal, 90 per cent of the items in the 28 per cent will be moved to the 18 per cent slab, while 99 per cent of the items in the 12 per cent slab will be moved to the five per cent slab, the sources added.
A special 40 per cent rate will apply to luxury and sin goods, which include tobacco, gutkha and cigarettes. The 40 per cent category will have just 5-7 items, according to the government sources, but will exclude aspirational items like refrigerator, air conditioner and washing machine. Further, petroleum products will continue to remain outside the GST regime even in revamped indirect tax structure.
The total incidence of taxation will remain at the current level of 88 per cent. Sources said that the proposed GST revamp is expected to give consumption a big boost, which will offset revenue loss due to rate rationalisation.
The proposed GST revamp comes hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the Independence Day address that GST reforms will be brought for “double Diwali”. This was apart from otehr significant announcements like a task force for next-generation reforms, a national deep water exploration mission for self-reliance in energy, and an indigenous “Sudarshan Chakra” defence system by 2035.