Govt Proposes To Scrap 12%, 28% GST Slabs

In a path-breaking initiative relating to the Goods and Services Tax structure, the Central Government has proposed to scrap the current slab of 12 per cent and 28 per cent of GST rates and keep only 5 per cent and 18 per cent GST rates, government sources said on Friday.

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Government sources said as part of the initiative, 99 per cent of 12 per cent slab are proposed to move in 5 per cent slab and 90 per cent of items in 28 per cent slab are proposed to move in the 18 per cent slab.

They said that consumer goods kept in the 28 per cent slab are proposed to be moved to the 18 per cent slab. They also said that a new slab of 40 per cent is proposed for "sin goods" like tobacco and pan masala.

The initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement during his Independence Day Speech on Friday that people are going to get a very big gift on Diwali and the government has embarked on "big reform of GST".

The sources said that the proposal by the Centre has been sent to the states. It has also been sent to the Group of Ministers (GoM) of the GST Council.