GST Rates Reduction and Profiteering Complaints

GST law requires suppliers of goods and services to pass on any reduction in the rate of tax or the benefit of input tax credit by way of commensurate reduction in prices. If this is not done, a complaint may be filed with the Anti Profiteering Authority. Below are details of the rate reduction which went in effect Nov 10, 2017. Kindly review the same and if you have purchases made after Nov 10, 2017 where you were still charged the higher GST, please let us know.

Goods on which the GST rates were reduced from 28% to 18% include:
 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 deodorisers
 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

Other changes/rationalisation of GST rates on goods:
a) 18% to 12%
i. Condensed milk
ii. Refined sugar and sugar cubes
iii. Pasta
iv. Curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasoning
v. Diabetic food
vi. Medicinal grade oxygen
vii. Printing ink
viii. Hand bags and shopping bags of jute and cotton
ix. Hats (knitted or crocheted)
x. Parts of specified agricultural, horticultural, forestry, harvesting or threshing machinery
xi. Specified parts of sewing machine
xii. Spectacles frames
xiii. Furniture wholly made of bamboo or cane

b) 18% to 5%
i. Puffed rice chikki, peanut chikki, sesame chikki, revdi, tilrevdi, khaza, kazuali, groundnut sweets gatta, kuliya
ii. Flour of potatoes put up in unit container bearing a brand name
iii. Chutney powder
iv. Fly ash
v. Sulphur recovered in refining of crude
vi. Fly ash aggregate with 90% or more fly ash content

c) 12% to 5%
i. Desiccated coconut
ii. Narrow woven fabric including cotton newar [with no refund of unutilised
input tax credit]
iii. Idli, dosa batter
iv. Finished leather, chamois and composition leather
v. Coir cordage and ropes, jute twine, coir products
vi. Fishing net and fishing hooks
vii. Worn clothing
viii. Fly ash brick

d) 5% to nil
i. Guar meal
ii. Hop cone (other than grounded, powdered or in pellet form)
iii. Certain dried vegetables such as sweet potatoes, maniac
iv. Unworked coconut shell
v. Fish frozen or dried (not put up in unit container bearing a brand name)
vi. Khandsari sugar more