The Centre and States have notified a reduction in GST rates on 23 items including TV sets and cinema tickets. The new rates will come into effect from the midnight of December 31 and January 1.

These notifications were issued after the GST Council, in its meeting on December 22, decided to lower the levies. They are likely to result in a ₹5,500-crore revenue loss for the full year and around ₹1,375 crore for the remaining three months of the current fiscal. However, the Centre expects the lower duties to result in higher sales, which in turn could compensate for the revenue loss.

Apart from TV sets with screen size up to 32 inch, GST has been lowered to 18 per cent from 28 per cent on pulleys, transmission shafts and cranks, gearboxes, retreaded or used tyres, power banks of lithium-ion batteries, digital cameras, video camera recorders and video game consoles. The 28 per cent slab is now restricted to only luxury and sin goods apart from auto-parts and cement. The tax rate on cement could not be cut due to high revenue implication. White goods like air conditioners and dishwashers are also in the 28 per cent slab.

The GST on movie tickets costing up to ₹100 has been cut to 12 per cent from 18 per cent; tickets over ₹100 will attract 18 per cent GST against the earlier 28 per cent. This will have an annual revenue implication of ₹900 crore. The tax rate on parts and accessories for the carriages for disabled persons was reduced from 28 per cent to 5 per cent. Also, third-party insurance premium of goods-carrying vehicles has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

The other items to attract a lower GST rate of 5 per cent include marble rubble, natural cork, walking stick and fly ash blocks. Music books and vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen, branded and put in a unit container and vegetables provisionally preserved but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption have been exempted from GST.

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