New GST rates, applicable from today, to impact household budgets

If steep inflation had jeopardised your household budget already, be prepared for some additional burden starting today. As the authorities revise rate of goods and services tax (GST) on several items to increase government revenue, streamline rates and reduce disputes, consumers may have to spend more on their daily groceries.

Among the key items that have undergone rate change, packaged and labelled food items, weighing upto 25 Kg per pack or the retail packs, are set become costlier. While earlier, these goods were exempted from GST, now a 5 per cent tax will be applicable on them. Which means, consumer staples like packaged wheat flour or atta, pulses (various types of dal, chana etc.), cereals like packaged rice will become dearer by up to 5 per cent from today. Similarly,  milk, curd (dahi), lassi and puffed rice to attract 5 per cent GST.

Household items and office stationaries like LED lamps, lighting, fittings paper knife, knives with cutting blades, paper knives, pencil sharpeners and blades, spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers, among other items, will now attract 18 per cent GST instead of 12 per cent earlier. According to manufacturers, higher GST may hike prices of these items by 4-6 per cent.

Additionally, low cost hotel rooms (tariff of up to Rs 1,000 per night) would now attract 12 per cent GST. Earlier, these rooms were exempted, which means travellers now have to spend 12 per cent more on cheaper hotel rooms.

For certain items, GST rates were reduced too. Among these, for renting of trucks and/or goods carriers where fuel charges were included, will be cheaper from today as rate of GST has been reduced to 12 per cent from 18 per cent earlier.
 

Also Read: Rupee settles at 79.98 against US dollar; briefly touches 80/USD mark

Also Read: ‘Dollar still currency of safety’: Mahindra, Goenka, Chidambaram on falling rupee