GST On Chewing Gum, Chocolates, Shaving Items, Shampoo, Skin Creams Reduced From 28 % To 18 %

The GST rate on 50 items of mass consumption, that were in the 28 per cent tax slab, has been slashed to 18. This was stated by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who heads the Group of Ministers panel for tackling IT-related glitches, said.

"All items of common consumption have been reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent tax rate. Tax on goods of mass consumption like chewing gum, chocolates, shaving items, shampoo, skin creams, whose revenue implication is not much, has been reduced," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meet at Guwahati. He further added that the revenue implication of these will be approximately Rs 20,000 crore. Modi said that it was important the system under GST regime stabilises as only four months were remaining for the close of the current financial year.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister P Chidambaram said the letter of finance ministers of Congress-ruled states has exposed the structural flaws in the design and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). In a series of tweets, he said the letter would set the tone for discussions at the GST Council on Friday in Guwahati and one could expect a shower of changes in GST rates from that meeting.