Everyday essentials to luxury travel: GST cuts shape lives in varying ways

The GST Council cleared a sweeping overhaul of tax rates, affecting a swathe of items. HT spoke to three people across the income spectrum to understand its implications.

- Hemani Bhandari, Jignasa Sinha and Leena Dhankhar

Grocery store owner

Musharraf Ali, 35, lives with his wife Rihanna Ali, 27, in a small two-bedroom house in northeast Delhi's Ghonda neighbourhood. Originally from Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district, the couple does not have any children.

For the last 13 years, Ali has run a grocery store selling soft drinks, snacks, chocolates, rice, lentils, butter, ghee, etc. His annual income comes up to around %3.5 lakh per annum or around 30,000 a month.

He owns a two-bedroom house and a big chunk of his expenditure is on food.

“We spend about 220,000 on ration, dairy and meat products every month and it takes up a large chunk of my earnings,” he said, adding that his electricity bill is usually zero because he ensures his consumption doesn’t cross 200 units every month. In Delhi, the government provides free electricity to households that consume below 200 units and a 50% subsidy to households that use only 201-400 units per month. “Why will I get a bill? We don’t have an air conditioner at home or even a geyser,” he said. The water bill, he said, comes sometimes but hovers between 500 and 2700. Ali owns a scooter and spends around 21,500 a month on petrol.

Ali and Rihanna have been married for three years but not once have they gone out on vacation. Now, they are, however, saving up for a trip to Manali next year. “We have planned to go to the hills. We really hope we are able to execute it,” he said. The GST changes could help him - hotel rooms that cost less than 7,500 are set to get cheaper.

The grocery shop is open on all days but sometimes, the couple goes to the zoo or Jama Masjid. But they are careful. “We never spend more than 21000,” he said.

For Ali, the biggest benefit of the rejig will come in his household bill because milk, milk products, food, fruits, are set to become cheaper. “It's a welcome step. We may start buying that without thinking a lot,” he said.