With reduced GST rates, pre-owned vehicles and vibhuti get cheaper

If you are a South Indian who loves “Vibhuti” then your prayers are answered — the GST rate for it has been slashed to nil by the government. The GST Council cut rates for 49 items, including zero percent on 29 handicraft items. The government is also working with Infosys to ease up the filing of GST.

Here is the list:

• Items that went from 28 percent to 18 percent: Old and used motor vehicles, subject to the condition that no input tax credit of central excise duty/value-added tax or GST paid on such vehicles has been availed by the supplier. Buses, for use in public transport, which exclusively run on biofuels.

• Items that went from 18 percent to 12 percent:

- Sugar boiled confectionary

- Drinking water packed in 20 litters bottles

- Fertiliser grade Phosphoric acid

- Bio-diesel

- Bio-pesticides:

Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis

Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki

Bacillus thuringiensis var. galleriae

Bacillus sphaericus

Trichoderma viride

Trichoderma harzianum

Pseudomonas fluoresens

Beauveriabassiana

NPV of Helicoverpaarmigera

NPV of Spodopteralitura

Neem based pesticides

-Cymbopogan

- Bamboo wood building joinery

- Drip irrigation system including laterals, sprinklers

- Mechanical Sprayer

• Items that went from 18 percent to 5 percent:

- Tamarind Kernel Powder

- Mehendi paste in cones

- LPG supplied for supply to household domestic consumers by private LPG distributors

- Scientific and technical instruments, apparatus, equipment, accessories, parts, components, spares, tools, mockups and modules, raw material and consumables required for launch vehicles and satellites and payloads

• Items that went from 12 percent to 5 percent:

- Articles of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basket-ware and wickerwork

• Items that went from 12 percent to 18 percent:

- Cigarette filter rods

• Items that went from 12 percent to 5 percent with no refund of unutilised input tax credit:

- Velvet fabric

• Items that went from 3 percent to 0.25 percent:

- Diamonds and precious stones

• Nil GST rate:

- Vibhuti

- Parts and accessories for the manufacture of hearing aids.

- De-oiled rice bran

• Items for which the charge is from nil to 5 percent:

- Rice bran (other than de-oiled rice bran)