GST rates revised: What got cheaper? Get the complete list

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday slashed the rates of 88 products, including TV, washing machine, footwear and refrigerator, whereas the much called sanitary napkins have been exempted from the toll.  

The highest tax bracket of 28 per cent has been reorganised with rates of daily-basis items like cosmetics, vacuum cleaners, toiletries, shavers, being slashed to 18 per cent.

The newly revised tax rates will come into effect from July 27.

"Every state wanted that the rates on these items be lowered so that the middle income households are benefited ... It has also been decided that the GST Council will rise above revenue consideration and focus more on job creation and economic growth," finance minister Piyush Goyal said.

While Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Twitter and wrote, “This is a major step towards rationalising the 28% tax slab which has been narrowed to only a few commodities in the past thirteen months.”

This is a major step towards rationalising the 28% tax slab which has been narrowed to only a few commodities in the past thirteen months.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) July 21, 2018

Here are the items set to get cheaper:

Items exempted from GST

• Sanitary pads
• Fortified milk
• Rakhis, without precious material like gold, silver etc
• Saal leaves
• Circulation and commemorative coins
• Coir pith compost
• Marbles, stone or wood deities
• Raw material used in brooms

GST slashed from 28% to 18%

• Washing machine
• Refrigerators, Freezers
• Vacuum cleaners
• Mixer grinders
• Water cooler
• TVs up to 68cm
• Storage water heaters
• Trailers and semi-trailers
• Lithium ion batteries
• Electric iron
• Paint
• Video games
• Shavers & Hair dryers

GST slashed from 18% to 12%

• Handbags including pouches and purses; jewellery box
• Wooden frames for painting, photographs, mirrors etc
• Art ware of cork (including articles of sholapith)
• Glass statues (other than those of crystal)
• Glass art ware (including pots, jars, votive, cask, cake cover, tulip bottle, vase)
• Art ware of iron
• Art ware of brass, copper/ copper alloys, electro plated with nickel/silver
• Aluminium art ware
• Handcrafted lamps (including panchloga lamp)
• Ornamental framed mirrors
• Worked vegetable or mineral carving, articles thereof, articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins or of modelling pastes etc,
• Stone art ware, stone inlay work
• Ganjifa card
• Zip and Slide Fasteners
• Hand Operated Rubber Roller
• Brass Kerosene Pressure Stove
• Bamboo flooring

GST slashed to 5%

• Ethanol
• Toran
• Footwear costing up to Rs 1000
• Handmade carpets and other handmade textile floor coverings (including namda/gabba)
• Solid bio fuel pellets
• Chenille fabrics and other fabrics under heading 5801
• Phosphoric acid (fertilizer grade only)
• Knitted cap/topi having retail sale value not exceeding Rs 1000
• Handmade lace
• Handloom dari
• Hand-woven tapestries
• Hand-made braids and ornamental trimming in the piece

(With inputs from agencies)