GST rate cut on these items; List showed

New Delhi, July 22: Here is the good news for the Indian people, as the GST Council on Saturday cut tax rates on 88 items, including footwear, refrigerator, washing machine and small screen TV, while the widely demanded sanitary napkins have been exempted from the levy.

The highest tax bracket of 28% has been rationalized further with rates on daily-use items like perfumes, cosmetics, toiletries, hair dryers, shavers, mixer grinder, vacuum cleaners, lithium-ion batteries, being lowered to 18%. The revised tax rates will come into effect from 27 July.

Sanitary napkins, rakhis, and idols made of stone, marble, and wood have been exempted. Further, footwear costing up to 1,000 will now attract 5% GST, up from 500 earlier.

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.

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