Services Sector Divided Into 4-Slabs for GST Rates, Decision on Gold is expected on June 4

Council concluded its latest round of meetings with the decision to apply the same four tax rate slabs for services as for goods, exempting, however, healthcare and educational services from the purview of the GST.

Speaking to media, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said that no consensus could be reached on the rate to apply on gold, and that the next meeting of the GST Council has been fixed for June 4.

"We could not come to a decision in this meeting on the rate to apply on gold," Issac said.

"Services will have the same four multi-slab structure of tax rates as for goods," he said.

The council on Thursday approved the tax rates for 1,211 items, of which 7 percent will be exempted, 14 percent will be in the 5 percent slab, 17 percent in the 12 percent category, 43 percent in the 18 percent segment, while 19 percent of goods will go into the top tax bracket of 28 percent.

"Services, which are at currently taxed 15 percent will be fitted into the 18 percent bracket. However, services will get the benefit of input tax credit for the goods used, so real incidence of taxation will be lower than the headline rate," Isaac added.

He said that while "luxury services" would attract the highest rate of 28 percent, health and education services would be exempt categories.

"Telecom services would continue to be taxed at the same rates of the past. Not in a single case has there been an increase in taxes from before," he added.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the media here on Thursday, after the first day of the council meeting, that "there is no increase in taxes of the items considered today. In fact, for many of them, taxes have come down."

An overwhelming 81 percent of items will attract tax of 18 percent or below. Only 19 percent of items will be taxed at the highest rate of 28 percent.

Jaitley said that while the overall basket of taxes will see a reduction, he hoped for greater tax buoyancy because of greater efficiency and less tax evasion.