The Council at its 23rd meeting in Guwahati on Friday reduced the tax rate on over 200 items

The GST Council on Friday in the biggest tax overhaul slashed tax rates on over 200 items, ranging from chewing gum to chocolates, to beauty products to wrist watches to provide relief to consumers and businesses. As many as 178 items of daily use were shifted from the top tax bracket of 28 per cent to 18 per cent. After these changes, only 50 items will attract GST rate of 28 per cent. Tax on two items was cut from 28 per cent to 12 per cent while on six items was reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. On eight items, tax was reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent and on six items from 5 per cent to nil.

Another big change, all restaurants will now be levied GST at 5 per cent, without input tax credit (ITC) benefits. Click here to know more on how eating out may get cheaper.

However five-star restaurants within starred-hotels with room rent above Rs. 7,500 will attract 18 per cent and can still avail ITC benefits, the council said. Outdoor catering will attract 18 per cent GST with input tax credit benefits.

Items on which GST was cut from 28 per cent to 18 per cent:

Wire, cables, insulated conductors, electrical insulators, electrical plugs, switches, sockets, fuses, relays, electrical connectors
Electrical boards, panels, consoles, cabinets etc for electric control or distribution
Particle/fibre boards and ply wood. Article of wood, wooden frame, paving block
Furniture, mattress, bedding and similar furnishing
Trunk, suitcase, vanity cases, brief cases, travelling bags and other hand bags, cases
Detergents, washing and cleaning preparations
Liquid or cream for washing the skin
Shampoos; Hair cream, Hair dyes (natural, herbal or synthetic) and similar other goods; henna powder or paste, not mixed with any other ingredient;
Pre-shave, shaving or after-shave preparations, personal deodorants, bath preparations, perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations, room deodoriser
Perfumes and toilet waters
Beauty or make-up preparations
Fans, pumps, compressors
Lamp and light fitting
Primary cell and primary batteries
Sanitary ware and parts thereof of all kind
Articles of plastic, floor covering, baths, shower, sinks, washbasins, seats, sanitary ware of plastic
Slabs of marbles and granite
Goods of marble and granite such as tiles
Ceramic tiles of all kinds
Miscellaneous articles such as vacuum flasks, lighters,
Wrist watches, clocks, watch movement, watch cases, straps, parts
Article of apparel & clothing accessories of leather, guts, furskin, artificial fur and other articles such as saddlery and harness for any animal
Articles of cutlery, stoves, cookers and similar non electric domestic appliances
Razor and razor blades
Multi-functional printers, cartridges
Office or desk equipment
Door, windows and frames of aluminium.
Articles of plaster such as board, sheet,
Articles of cement or concrete or stone and artificial stone,
Articles of asphalt or slate,
Articles of mica
Ceramic flooring blocks, pipes, conduit, pipe fitting
Wall paper and wall covering
Glass of all kinds and articles thereof such as mirror, safety glass, sheets, glassware
Electrical, electronic weighing machinery
Fire extinguishers and fire extinguishing charge
Fork lifts, lifting and handling equipment,
Bull dozers, excavators, loaders, road rollers,
Earth moving and levelling machinery,
Escalators,Cooling towers, pressure vessels, reactors
Crankshaft for sewing machine, tailor’s dummies, bearing housings, gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gaskets
Electrical apparatus for radio and television broadcasting
Sound recording or reproducing apparatus
Signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for transports
Physical exercise equipment, festival and carnival equipment, swings, shooting galleries, roundabouts, gymnastic and athletic equipment
All musical instruments and their parts
Artificial flowers, foliage and artificial fruits
Explosive, anti-knocking preparation, fireworks
Cocoa butter, fat, oil powder,
Extract, essence ad concentrates of coffee, miscellaneous food preparations
Chocolates, Chewing gum / bubble gum
Malt extract and food preparations of flour, groats, meal, starch or malt extract
Waffles and wafers coated with chocolate or containing chocolate
Rubber tubes and miscellaneous articles of rubber
Goggles, binoculars, telescope,
Cinematographic cameras and projectors, image projector,
Microscope, specified laboratory equipment, specified scientific equipment such as for meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, geology
Solvent, thinners, hydraulic fluids, anti-freezing preparation

Items on which GST was cut from 28 per cent to 12 per cent:

Wet grinders consisting of stone as grinder
Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles

Items on which GST was cut from 18 per cent to 12 per cent:

Condensed milk
Refined sugar and sugar cubes
Pasta
Curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasoning
Diabetic food
Medicinal grade oxygen
Printing ink
Hand bags and shopping bags of jute and cotton
Hats (knitted or crocheted)
Parts of specified agricultural, horticultural, forestry, harvesting or threshing machinery
Specified parts of sewing machine
Spectacles frames
Furniture wholly made of bamboo or cane

Items on which GST was cut from 18 per cent to 5 per cent:

Puffed rice chikki, peanut chikki, sesame chikki, revdi, tilrevdi, khaza, kazuali, groundnut sweets gatta, kuliya
Flour of potatoes put up in unit container bearing a brand name
Chutney powder
Fly ash
Sulphur recovered in refining of crude
Fly ash aggregate with 90% or more fly ash content

Items on which GST was cut from 12 per cent to 5 per cent:

Desiccated coconut
Narrow woven fabric including cotton newar [with no refund of unutilised input tax credit]
Idli, dosa batter
Finished leather, chamois and composition leather
Coir cordage and ropes, jute twine, coir products
Fishing net and fishing hooks
Worn clothing
Fly ash brick

Items on which GST was cut from 5 per cent to nil:

Guar meal
Hop cone (other than grounded, powdered or in pellet form)
Certain dried vegetables such as sweet potatoes, maniac
Unworked coconut shell
Fish frozen or dried (not put up in unit container bearing a brand name)
Khandsari sugar

GST rates on aircraft engines was cut from 28 per cent/18 per cent to 5 per cent, aircraft tyres from 28 per cent to 5 per cent and aircraft seats from 28 per cent to 5 per cent. also GST rate on bangles of lac/shellac from 3 per cent GST rate to Nil.