 "New GST rates take effect: Full list of what gets cheaper from today")
The GST rate rationalisation announced by the GST Council earlier this month comes into effect from today, the first day of ‘Navratri’. The Council revised GST slabs from four (5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent) to two main rates 5 per cent and 18 per cent, plus a special 40 per cent rate on select items and sin goods.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the reforms India’s ‘Bachat Utsav’, describing it as a festive-season gift for consumers. He said the reforms will help people save more and spend on what they wish, benefiting youth, farmers, women, traders and entrepreneurs.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move is not just rate rationalisation but a “structural reform” that eases compliance for businesses and consumers.
List of items that gets cheaper under new GST reforms
Daily essentials and personal care
- Bathroom essentials (Hair oil, toilet soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste): From 18 per cent to 5 per cent
- Grooming products (Talcum powder, face powder, shaving cream, after-shave lotions): From 18 per cent to 5 per cent
- Baby products (Feeding bottles, baby napkins, clinical diapers): From 12 per cent to 5 per cent
Food and kitchen staples
- Dairy products: From 12 per cent to 5 per cent
- Ghee: Cheaper by ₹40-70 per litre
- Butter: Cheaper by ₹4 per 100g pack, now ₹58
- Paneer: Cheaper by ₹4 per 200g pack, now ₹95
- Packaged foods (Namkeen, bhujia, instant noodles, chocolate, jams, ketchup, sauces): From 12 per cent to 5 per cent
- Completely tax-free: UHT milk, prepackaged paneer, Indian breads (chapati, roti, parantha)
Healthcare and education
- Medicines: 33 lifesaving drugs now tax-free (Others move from 12 per cent to 5 per cent)
- Health & life insurance: 18 per cent → Nil
- Thermometers: 18 per cent → 5 per cent
- Medical-grade oxygen: 12 per cent → 5 per cent
- Wellness services (Gym, salon, barber, yoga, spa): 18 per cent → 5 per cent
- Education supplies (Exercise books, notebooks, pencils, crayons): 12 per cent → Nil
Agriculture and farm equipment
- Tractor tyres & parts: 18 per cent → 5 per cent
- Tractors: 12 per cent → 5 per cent
- Drip irrigation systems and sprinklers: 12 per cent → 5 per cent
Electronics and appliances
- Air conditioners: 28 per cent → 18 per cent
- TVs above 32 inches: 28 per cent → 18 per cent
- Monitors & projectors: 28 per cent → 18 per cent
- Dishwashing machines: 28 per cent → 18 per cent
Automobiles and transport
- Small vehicles (up to 350cc): 28 per cent → 18 per cent
- Entry-level cars: ₹40,000-75,000 cheaper
- Mid-range sedans & SUVs: ₹60,000-1.56 lakh cheaper
- Premium & luxury vehicles: ₹1.8 lakh-4.48 lakh reduction; ultra-premium cuts exceed ₹30 lakh
- Two-wheelers (under 350cc): ₹5,600-18,800 cheaper
- Commercial vehicles: buses, trucks, ambulances see reductions
- Auto parts: all components now at uniform 18 per cent GST
Hospitality and construction
- Hotel rooms ≤ ₹7,500 per night: 12 per cent → 5 per cent
- Cement: 28 per cent → 18 per cent
Items that get more expensive
‘Sin goods’ and luxury items now taxed at 40 per cent
- Pan masala: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Sugary/flavoured drinks, aerated beverages: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Other non-alcoholic beverages, fruit-based carbonated drinks: 18-28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Caffeinated beverages: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Unmanufactured tobacco (except raw leaves): 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos, cigarettes: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Other tobacco products: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Passenger cars & hybrid petrol/ diesel cars (specific specs): 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Motorcycles above 350cc: 28 per cent → 40 per cent
- Apparel & accessories above ₹2,500: 12 per cent → 18 per cent