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The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the GST council’s recommendation to slash GST rates on 178 items from 28 to 18 per cent and some of the items from 18 to 12 per cent and 12 to 5 per cent.

“It has watered down the impairment caused to the pride of the progressive new tax system to a great extent,” its senior president S Rethinavelu said. The trade body thanked the council for bringing down the tax rate on furniture, ceramic tiles, granite and marble slabs, electronic weighing machines, articles of cement, concrete, stone and artificial stone from 28 to 18 per cent and fly ash brick from 12 to 5 per cent on par with clay bricks and for fixing uniform 5 per cent tax on food served in A/C and non A/C restaurants.

“The reduction of umpteen number of building materials would go a long way in the revival of construction industry. Having taken cognisance of the technical glitches faced by small tax payers, the GST Council has rightly recommended for staggering of the due dates for uploading various tax returns. The complicated returns should also be simplifies,” its president N Jegatheesan said.

Appreciating the council for accepting the proposal to enhance the turnover limit for composition levy from the present Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore, the TNCCI said there is still room for reduction of tax rates for a number of products to facilitate the growth of trade and industry. It also demanded formation of a high-level trade representatives’ committee to voice their concerns directly to GST council for immediate redressal.