PANAJI: A whistle has always been an inseparable part of sports. In football, the world's most popular sport, for example, a match neither kicks off nor ends without the referee blowing the whistle. But the status of a whistle has undergone a sea change with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax GST ).ALSO READ:Under GST, the good old sporting whistle has now been classified as a musical instrument and invites the highest tax of 28%. Imagine telling them that a whistle now costs 28% more because of the GST," said a shop owner from the city.Prior to GST, most sports goods, including the whistle, fell in the 5% category.It is not just the humble whistle that is now in the highest tax bracket. Except for health and fitness equipment, all sports goods were earlier taxed at 5%.

Source: Times of India July 02, 2017 04:30 UTC