On 29 June, the Finance Ministry announced that the government would raise taxes (GST rate hikes) on certain products and services, including kitchenware, from 12% to 18%.
GST Council took this decision following its two-day 47th meeting on 18 July 2022. The price of kitchen utensils led lights, farm machinery, solar water systems, and work contracts for roads, irrigation projects, hospitals, and educational institutions will now be 18%, instead of 12% previously, according to a statement.
Using a tax rate reduction mechanism, the GST Council has decided to eliminate a duty inverted system on certain goods and services, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Chandigarh.
Additionally, the GST Council raised the tax on petroleum and coal bed methane from 5% to 12%. Packaged food items were also taxed more heavily. E-waster is now subject to 18% GST instead of the current 5%.
From now on, the government will tax lost or in-book form checks, as well as parts of goods under heading 8801. The 12% GST, however, will apply to all maps and charts of every kind, including atlases, wall maps, topographic plans, and globes. Previously, these types of items were all exempt from GST.
GST rate hikes Then and Now:
| Hotel rooms with a daily tariff below Rs. 100/- | Hospital rooms with a daily tariff of Rs. 5,000/- or more | Unbranded ‘prepackaged and labeled’ food items (Wheat flour, puffed rice, curd, paneer) | LED lamps, ink, knives, blades, spoons, forks |
| Earlier nil; Now 12% | Earlier nil; Now 5% with Input tax credit | Earlier nil; FM changed to 5% | Earlier 12%; Now 18% |
Vivek Jalan, Tax Connect Advisory, said that the tax on unbranded but branded packaged products like cereals, wheat, maize, and rice may increase by 5%.
As a result of the GST rate increases, edible oils and milk products will become more expensive,” he said.
For the fifth consecutive month, the consumer price index-based inflation ranged between 7.04% and 7.79%, hitting an eight-year high of 7.79% in April.
