Cheaper After GST: Common Use Items That Attract Less Taxes Now

GST or goods and services tax became reality with a historic midnight launch on June 30. From July 1, the country stepped into a new regime of GST. While thousands of specific products and services have been accommodated under different GST tax slabs, traders, manufacturers and service providers alike are studying the implications on billing and pricing under the new system. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), under the purview of the Department of Revenue, has come out with a list of common use items that will attract lower taxes under GST compared to pre-GST tax incidence.

GST subsumes over a dozen central and local levies including excise duty, service tax, VAT or value-added tax and octroi.

In its list, the CBEC mentioned six items - wheat, rice, unbranded flour, curd/lassi/butter milk, unbranded natural honey and children's picture/drawing/colouring books - where tax incidence has come down to zero per cent compared with pre-GST tax incidence. The Central Board of Excise and Customs also mentioned 10 items which attract 5 per cent tax under GST, compared with a tax incidence of 6-10 per cent earlier. The government body also named few items where GST has lowered tax incidence by as much as 9 per cent. These items include mineral water, hair oil, toothpaste, soap and staplers.

"The pre-GST tax incidence would be higher if the tax incidence on account of CST (central sales tax), octroy, entry tax, etc. (which is more than 2 per cent) is also included," the CBEC said.

Here's a comparison of tax incidence on some times, as given by the CBEC:

Item	Pre-GST incidence	GST rate
Wheat	2.50%	0%
Rice	2.75%	0%
Unbranded flour	3.50%	0%
Curd/Lassi/Butter Bilk	4%	0%
Unbranded natural honey	6%	0%
Children's picture, drawing or colouring books	7%	0%
Ultra high temperature (UHT) milk	6%	5%
Tea (other than unprocessed green leaves of tea)	6%	5%
Milk powder	6%	5%
Sugar	6%	5%
Sweetmeats	7%	5%
Vegetable edible oils	6%	5%
Spices	6%	5%
Footwear up to Rs 500	10%	5%
Kerosene pressure lantern	8%	5%
Coal	9%	5%
Ketchup and sauces	12%	12%
Toppings, spreads (other than mayonaise, salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasonings)	12%	12%
Mineral water	27%	18%
Sugar confectionery	21%	18%
Toothpowder	17%	12%
LED	15%	12%
X-Ray films for medical use	23%	12%
Diagnostic kits and reagents	16%	12%
Fixed speed diesel engines of power not exceeding 15HP	16%	12%
Fly ash bricks and fly ash blocks	16%	12%
Sewing machine	16%	12%
Hair oil	27%	18%
Toothpaste	27%	18%
Soap	27%	18%
Other footwear	21%	18%
LPG stove	21%	18%
Aluminium foils	19%	18%
School bag	22%	18%
Printers (other than multifunction printers)	19%	18%
Staplers	27%	18%
Tractor rear tyres and tubes	20%	18%
Helmet	20%	18%
CCTV	19%	18%
Baby carriages	27%	18%
Plastic tarpaulin	19%	18%
Bamboo furniture	23%	18%
Headgear and parts thereof	27%	18%
Cement	29%	28%