Scores of mass consumption items such as detergent, shampoo and chocolates will become cheaper, as the panel on Goods and Services Tax (GST) decided on Friday that only so-called sin goods should be taxed the most under the new multi-rate system. The GST Council recommended that the government prune by nearly three-quarters the number of items under the highest 28% slab, as well as move some items under other tax categories to lower brackets. Friday’s meeting also agreed to reduce tax on restaurant bills, but given that these eateries will not get any input tax credit — a facility to set off tax paid on inputs with final tax— eating out might not become substantially cheaper. The eligibility threshold for the scheme too has been raised to Rs 1.5 crore from Rs 1 crore now. India has about 56 million small and medium-sized firms that account for some 110 million jobs in the country, official data show.

Source: Hindustan Times November 10, 2017 11:16 UTC