GST rates: Here’s your complete guide

Most of the goods and services have been listed under the four broad tax slabs – 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Some items like gold and rough diamonds have exclusive tax rates while some have been exempted from taxation.

As India wakes up to a new tax regime, here is a quick guide to all the goods and services and their respective tax slabs:

Tax exempted 
Goods
A number of food items have been exempted from any of the tax slabs. Fresh meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk, butter milk, curd, natural honey, fresh fruits and vegetables, flour, besan, bread, all kinds of salt, jaggery and hulled cereal grains have been kept out of the taxation system.

Bindi, sindoor, kajal, palmyra, human hair and bangles also do not attract any tax under GST.

Drawin .. or colouring books alongside stamps, judicial papers, printed books, newspapers also fall under this category.
Other items in the exempted list include jute and handloom, Bones and horn cores, hoof meal, horn meal, bone grist, bone meal, etc.

Services
Grandfathering service has been exempted under GST.

A low budget holiday may get cheaper as hotels and lodges with tariff below Rs 1,000 are in this category.

Rough precious and semi-precious stones will attract GST rate of 0.25 per cent.

5% tax 

Goods
An array of food items such as fish fillet, packaged food items, cream, skimmed milk powder, branded paneer, frozen vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, pizza bread, rusk, sabudana, cashew nut, cashew nut in shell, raisin, ice and snow will be priced at 5 per cent tax.
Apparel below Rs 1000 and footwear below Rs 500 are also in this category.

Some items in the fuel category like bio gas, kerosene and coal are in this slab.

Items from the health industry in this category include medicine, insulin and stent.

Other items in this slab are agarbatti (incense sticks), kites, postage or revenue stamps, stamp-post marks, fertilizers, first-day covers and lifeboats.

Services
Transport services like railways and air travel fall under this category.

Small restaurants will also be under the 5% category

Gold has been taxed under a separate slab of 3 per cent.

12% tax 

Goods

Yet another category of edibles like frozen meat products, butter, cheese, ghee, dry fruits in packaged form, animal fat, sausage, fruit juices, namkeen and ketchup & sauces will attract 12 per cent tax.
Cellphones will also be priced in this category.

Cutlery items like Spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake servers, fish knives, tongs fall in this slab.

Ayurvedic medicines and all diagnostic kits and reagents are taxed at 12 per cent.
Utility items like tooth powder, umbrella, sewing machine and spectacles and indoor game items like playing cards, chess board, carom board and other board games like ludo are in this slab.

Apparel above Rs 1000 will attract 12 per cent tax.
Services

Non-AC hotels, business class air ticket, state-run lottery, work contracts will fall under 12 per cent GST tax slab

18% tax 

Goods

Another set of consumables are listed under the 18 per cent category- biscuits, flavoured refined sugar, pasta, cornflakes, pastries and cakes, preserved vegetables, jams, sauces, soups, ice cream, instant food mixes, curry paste, mayonnaise and salad dressings, mixed condiments and mixed seasonings and mineral water.

Footwear costing more than Rs 500 are in this category.

Items like Printed circuits, camera, speakers and monitors, printers (other than multi function printers), electrical transformer, CCTV, optical fiber are priced at 18 per cent tax under GST.
Other items in this slab include bidi leaves, tissues, envelopes, sanitary napkins, note books, steel products, kajal pencil sticks, headgear and its parts, aluminium foil, weighing machinery (other than electric or electronic weighing machinery), bamboo furniture, swimming pools and padding pools.
Services
AC hotels that serve liquor, telecom services, IT services, branded garments and financial services will attract 18 per cent tax under GST.

28% tax 

Goods
The residuary set of edibles which include chewing gum, molasses, chocolate not containing cocoa, waffles and wafers coated with choclate, pan masala and aerated water fall in this category.

Bidi attracts 28 per cent tax.
n array of personal care items like deodorants, shaving creams, after shave, hair shampoo, dye and sunscreen are in the highest tax slab as well.

Paint, wallpaper and ceramic tiles are priced at 28 per cent.

Water heater, dishwasher, weighing machine, washing machine, ATM, vending machines, vacuum cleaner, shavers and hair clippers have been clubbed together in this slab.
Automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft for personal use will attract 28 % tax – the highest under GST system.

Services
5-star hotels, race club betting, private lottery and movie tickets above Rs 100 are under the 28 per cent category.

The GST on restaurants in five-star and luxury hotels has been reduced to 18 per cent from 28 per cent, bringing it at par with standalone air-conditioned (AC) restaurants. Even at some air-conditioned restaurants, the bills may come down, as GST will subsume service tax and value-added tax (VAT) that is currently charged.