In the important meeting of the GST Council to be held in May, a decision can be taken on the proposal to remove the tax slab of five percent. The council can take this decision to increase the income of the states. The council may fix a slab of three percent for everyday items used on a large scale. At the same time, other products falling under the five percent tax slab can be included in the eight percent slab.

Most states agree

According to a report by news agency PTI, this decision can be taken at a time when most states are looking in favor of this decision to increase revenue. According to the report, most of the states do not want to depend on the central government for compensation amount.

Now there are so many slabs

At present there are four tax slabs in GST. These include tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Presently, gold and other jewelery attracts a GST of 3 per cent. Apart from this, there is also an exam list. These include unbranded clothing and unpacked food items. There is no tax on these.

Big update regarding Exempt List

The report quoted sources as saying that to increase revenue, the GST Council may include some non-food products included in the exempt list in the slab of three percent.

5% slab will end

According to the report, the slab of five per cent can be increased to seven, eight or nine per cent. The GST Council has to take a final decision in this regard. The Finance Ministers of the Central Government and State Governments are included in the GST Council.

State governments will have big benefits

Packaged food items mainly come in the tax slab of five percent. With every one per cent increase in the tax slab of five per cent, the GST collection will increase by about Rs 50,000 crore.

8% slab can be made

The GST Council can now include most of the items included in the slab of five percent in the new slab of eight percent. According to the report, many other options are also being considered.

Will inflation increase further? This update regarding GST has come at a time when even in March, the rate of retail inflation in the country was more than the target range of RBI. Along with petrol, diesel, there is a continuous increase in the rate of PNG and CNG. In such a situation, it will be important to see how this change in the GST slab affects the prices of goods.