Tax cut on 178 items, only 50 still in 28% slab

Three months after rolling out the new taxation system, the GST Council chaired by Arun Jaitley announced major cuts in taxes of various items.

The move comes after traders, small and medium enterprises had complained of tedious compliance burden under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST). To provide relief to them, the council decided to cut GST rate on 27 common use items. 

Friday’s decisions will come into force over the next one week as they get notified. Here is the complete list of the changes in the GST slabs:

Most of the items of common consumption brought to five percent category.

Here is a Full list of revised GST rates for 178 categories of goods; Tax rate on five-star hotels unchanged:https://goo.gl/JCiDd7

Important links:
GST Consultant is Delhi
GST Registration in Delhi
Tax consultant in India

GST impact on online shopping

GST impact on online shopping, tax breaks: All you to know about the changed rules in 7 brief points:

On July 1, India moved on to a new era of taxation with the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST). It has now subsumed 17 central and state indirect taxes and 23 cesses into a single tax regime. Such a big transition is bound to change the lives of many individuals and businesses. Some of such changes are as follows:
Change in shopping online
Under the new regime, goods will be delivered to a customer much faster than the previous regime due to removal of paperwork to be filed with state authorities. Though goods will reach on time, a pain point for consumers would be returns and cancellations as e-commerce companies may make this a tad difficult since they would now have to bear the tax amount on their own and only later be able to get a refund from the government in case of returns and cancellations. The companies will face a major cash-flow disadvantage due to returns and cancellations.

GST

Relief to consumers
A huge relief to consumers has been the reduction in nominal tax rates for a majority of goods. Half of the items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket will be exempt from GST and another tenth will be taxed at the lowest rate of 5%. The balance CPI goods would come under either of the two standard rates of 12% or 18%, rather than the highest rate of 28%.
Anti-profiteering clause
The government has set up an anti-profiteering body to keep a watch on how businesses recalibrate the tax-inclusive price charged from consumers. Hence, companies and traders are expected to pass on the benefit to the consumers. This would result in further reduction of prices on various goods and services.
Getting tech savvy
In lines with Digital India, all filings in GST will have to be done online. Hence, all businesses would not only have to update their systems but also train their workforce to become tech savvy. It will specifically effect smaller traders who earlier managed their tax filings manually.
Ease of process
GST will not only ease the process of business but also bring in transparency in the whole process. All the invoices uploaded by sellers will also be visible to buyers. For the first time, consumers will get to know the actual amount of taxes they are paying for goods and services in the form of single GST. The efficiency of GST is expected to bring down the tax burden and improve transparency.
Tax breaks to end
There is no more excise duty exemption for setting up production units in the north east or hill states. Businesses will have to make investment decisions based on sound economics rather than tax arbitrage. Units that have already come up on the promise of excise exemption for a specified period will have to pay tax first and claim refunds in the remaining period.
Competitive business environment
It will shift the burden of taxes from the manufacturers in India where the tax system is unfairly skewed towards the consumers. Manufacturers will pay lower taxes and there will be an environment of greater competitiveness and more freedom in business.
Compliances
The number of returns to be filed under GST has been a hot topic of debate. In the GST regime businesses have to file a total of 37 returns per state. However, everything being online, it is expected to be easier. Also, now such businesses would have to deal with one tax authority rather than multiple authorities as in the past regime.
Source: http://bit.ly/2sMoRyq
You may consult with the Tax Consultant in India/ Tax Advisor in India for any kind of help related to GST.

How Will New Taxation System GST Work?

When GST or goods or services tax rolls out on July 1, it will be the biggest tax reform since Independence. GST will subsume a large number of central and state taxes into a single tax, paving the way for a common national market. From free flow of goods and services to elimination of cascading of taxes, the potential benefits to Indian economy are many. It is estimated that GST could raise GDP or gross domestic product growth by 1.5-2 per cent in the long term.

Good and Service Tax

Here is a 10-point:

1. GST is a destination-based tax, as against the present principle of origin based taxation. The new tax regime follows a multi-stage collection mechanism wherein tax is collected at every stage and the credit of tax paid (input tax credit) at the previous stage is available as a set-off at the next stage of transaction. This helps to eliminate "tax on tax" or the cascading impact of tax. GST shifts the tax incidence near to the consumer and benefits the industry through better cash flows and better working capital management. From consumer point of view, GST helps to bring down overall tax.
2. Input tax credit: This means that at the time of paying tax on output manufacturers or service providers, for example, can reduce the tax by the amount they have already paid on inputs. For example, a manufacturer's total tax on output comes to Rs. 5,000 while tax paid on input (purchases) is Rs. 3,000. In this case, the manufacturer needs to deposit only Rs. 2,000 (Rs. 5,000 - Rs. 3,000) as tax, after claiming credit of Rs. 3,000, thus reducing the overall incidence of tax on final product. But credit available to the recipient (the manufacturer in this case) only if invoice is matched. So GST helps in checking evasion of taxes.
3. GST rates: GST rates on goods and services have been broadly classified into four tax rates: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Some goods and services would be exempt. Precious metals like gold will attract a separate tax rate of 3 per cent. A cess will be levied over the peak rate of 28 per cent on specified luxury and sin goods. Under GST, businesses are required to file returns each month. But the government has let companies file late returns for the first two months so that they can adapt to a new online filing system.
4. CGST, SGST, IGST: The GST to be levied by the Centre would be called Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the States (including Union territories with legislature) would be called State GST (SGST). An Integrated GST (IGST) would be levied on inter-State supply (including stock transfers) of goods or services. This would be collected by the Centre. Import of goods would be treated as inter-State supplies and would be subject to IGST in addition to the applicable customs duties. Exports will be treated as zero-rated supplies which means no tax will be payable on exports of goods or services. However, exporters can claim input tax credit.
5. Who is liable to pay GST? Businesses with an annual turnover of Rs. 20 lakh (Rs. 10 lakh for special category states) would be exempt from GST. A composition scheme (to pay tax at a flat rate without input credits) is available to manufacturers and service providers having an annual turnover of up to Rs. 75 lakh. The composition scheme is optional.
6. Stocks in transition: On stocks unsold before GST rollout, manufacturers and retailers have been allowed to carry forward input tax credit for 90 days. On such goods they can claim as much as 60 per cent of the input tax credit on stocks lying unsold up to June 30.
7. Anti-profiteering mechanism: An authority will be set up to see that any reduction in rate of tax of any supply of goods or services for the benefit of input tax credit will be passed on the recipient by commensurate reduction in prices. Anti-profiteering clause in GST is a deterrent which is not intended to be used unless forced to, says Finance Minister.
8. Decision mechanism: GST Council will make recommendations on everything related to GST including laws, rules and rates etc. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley heads the panel while ministers of finance or taxation of each state are its members. Decisions in the Council are taken by a 75 per cent majority. Centre and a minimum of 20 states are required for majority because Centre would have one-third weightage of the total votes cast and all the States taken together would have two-thirds of weightage.
9. Not part of GST: Petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel have been kept out of GST as of now. The GST Council will take a decision on it at a later date. Alcohol has also been kept out of GST.
10. Administrative control: To ensure single interface, all administrative control of 90 per cent of taxpayers having turnover below Rs. 1.5 crore would vest with state tax administration while 10 per cent with the central tax administration. Further, all administrative control over taxpayers having turnover above Rs. 1.5 crore will be divided equally between central and state tax administrations. States will be compensated for any revenue loss from GST implementation for five years.

Source: http://bit.ly/2s4zND6

GST effect: Nike, Adidas, Levi's offer discounts as sales season comes early

GST has brought a fresh wave of sales, with most companies offering discounts as they try to finish off their stocks before the roll out of the new tax system on July 1. The end of season sales usually begin in the end of June, but this year brick-and-mortar retailers started offering discounts from the beginning of June. There are Buy 2 Get 2, Flat 40-50% off and many other discounts on top clothing, footwear companies including top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi's. While these companies have not revealed when these discounts will end, the strategy could change after July 1 when the GST is rolled out.

Service Tax

Here are the offers on top brands in Delhi-NCR:

Nike: Sporting brand Nike is offering up to 50 % discount on some products. Some products are being sold at the discount of 25% and 35%. The sales started early in Nike with the company offering discount from June 1.


Levi's: Jeans brand Levi's is offering flat 40% discounts on most of the items with some selected items on 50 % off. An earlier scheme that ran from June 7 to June 23 had a Buy  2 Get 2 offer.

Adidas: Adidas Originals is offering 50% flat discount on purchase of 3 or more items. Buyers can choose both shoes and clothes to avail the offer. On single items, the company is offering up to 40 percent off depending on the products. The sales at Adidas started in the first week of June.

Pantaloons: In Delhi-NCR, Pantaloons, which sells products from multiple brands, is offering 50% off when buyers shop worth Rs 10,0000. There are also discounts starting from 20% on different brands. The discount stretches to 50% on some brands.

Puma: Sportswear company Puma is offering a discount of up to 40 % on select merchandise. Sales started on 1 June.

Arrow: Clothing brand Arrow, like some of the other brands, is also offering  has an ongoing Buy 2 Get 2 Offer in Delhi-NCR. There's a discount of 20 % on single items. Those who shop 5 or more items can avail flat 40 % off on the total bill. There's a 30 % discount on suits and blazers.
Source: http://www.msn.com/en-in/money?ocid=iehp