CBIC has, via notifications issued on 27th July 2018, notified revised rates on specific services and exempted many supplies under the following categories –
1. Agriculture, farming & food processing industry;
2. Education, Training & Skill Development;
3. Pension, Social Security and Old Age Support
- Hotel industry given major relief by charging GST on accommodation service on the transaction value instead of declared tariff;
- The ambit of outdoor catering has been clarified to include all such outdoor and indoor functions that are event based and occasional in nature;
- GST on supply of food & drinks by a canteen or a mess run by an Institution or an external party in an Institution, to be covered under 5% GST slab;
- As a green initiative, GST on supply of e-books has been reduced from 18 to 5%;
- Services provided by FSSAI to food business operators have been exempted;
- Services by way of artificial insemination of livestock (other than horses) have been exempted;
- Service of warehousing of minor forest produce has been exempted;
- Services provided by an unincorporated body or a registered non-profit entity to own members in consideration of membership fee up to INR 1,000 per member per year, in activities relating to the welfare of industrial or agricultural labour or farmer; or for the promotion of trade, commerce, industry, agriculture, art, science, literature, culture, sports, education, social welfare, charitable activities and protection of environment.
- Supply of food and drinks by the Indian Railways or IRCTC to be charged @ 5%, if credit of GST on goods & services has not been taken in making supply;
- Supply of services by an old age home run by Central/State Govt. or a body registered under 12AA of Income Tax Act) to its residents (aged 60 years or more) against consideration upto INR 25,000 per month per member provided consideration is inclusive of charges for boarding, lodging and maintenance;
- GST rate of 12% notified with full ITC under forward charge for composite supply of multimodal transportation;
Reverse Charge on Services of DSAs
GST on services provided by individual DSAs to banks/NBFCs will be payable by the the buying banks/NBFCs under reverse charge. However, services by non-individual NBFCs (corporate, partnership firms) to banks/NBFCs would continue to be covered under forward charge.
With respect to goods, many of the goods, earlier falling under the GST rate of 28% have been brought into the tariff of 18%/12%; rates of some of the goods covered under 18%, 12% or 5%, has also been lowered.
Items with rate reduced from 28% to 18%
1. Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers);
2. Refrigerators, freezers and other refrigerating or freezing equipment including water cooler, milk coolers, refrigerating equipment for leather industry, ice cream freezer etc.;
3. Washing machines;
4. Lithium-ion batteries;
5. Vacuum cleaners;
6. Domestic electrical appliances such as food grinders and mixers & food or vegetable juice extractor, shaver, hair clippers etc.;
7. Storage water heaters and immersion heaters, hair dryers, hand dryers, electric smoothing irons etc;
8. Televisions upto the size of 68 cm;
9. Special purpose motor vehicles. e.g., crane lorries, fire fighting vehicle, concrete mixer lorries, spraying lorries;
10. Works trucks [self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment] of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short transport of goods.
11. Trailers and semi-trailers.
12. Miscellaneous articles such as scent sprays and similar toilet sprays, powder-puffs and pads for the application of cosmetics or toilet preparations
