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With the Rajya Sabha moving all the four GST rates in the parliament a week back, the nation’s biggest and revolutionary tax regime GST benefits (Goods and Services Tax) has become a reality. Boasted as the most subversive tax reform in the country after independence, features of GST is supposed to restrict transactional costs by introducing a unified tax system stirring economic growth in the long run.
With the prospects that GST features would increase the GDP by a couple of percentages, the reform in its entirety might come with a mixed bag of shocks for the common man.
Talking about its long-term impact, GST API should show a positive impact on most sectors. Based on the GST service providers implementation experience derived from other nations, India might experience an inflationary impact especially during the transition stage, which is expected to weaken with the rollout of measures such as anti-profiteering.
Yes, with the inclusion of anti-profiteering along with other counteractive measures, GST software should lead to reduced cost for most of the supplies to the end-users in the long-run.
Here’s a quick look at what the GST could imply for the common man:
Services that are expected to become expensive include:
• Mobile phone bills
• Premiums for life insurance plans
• Investment management also banking services
• Online ticket booking services
• Basic luxuries such as DTH services
Prices of the following essential services are also likely to go up:
• Healthcare
• Residential rentals
• School and educational fees
• Rail/metro commute
• Courier services
Services that might see a price decrease in most of the states are as follows:
• As the GST council has decided to include entertainment taxes in GST, movie tickets might turn cheaper in most of the states across the country.
• Eating out in restaurants/hotels may turn pocket-friendly in several states.
Vehicles and certain essential goods to witness price drop:
Under the GST tax system and the current supply chain ecosystem, the following might get cheaper:
• Two wheelers
• Luxury and SUV or premium cars
• Entry level sedans excluding small cars
Minimal impact:
Basis of the current supply chain landscape and other associated indirect taxes, the common man can expect marginal impact on white goods such as:
• Stoves
• Washing machines
• Televisions
• Shampoos
• Toothpastes
• Soaps
Prices of sin goods and aerated drinks to go higher:
The government with its determined outlook towards injurious/sin goods, intended a high tax rates on ‘sin goods’ that include cigarettes, aerated drinks and tobacco products. With a higher tax rate of around 40%, these goods may witness steep rise in their prices.
Here’s the four-tier GST tax rates
Positive impact lurking around the corner, expected in long-term!
Whilst the afore-mentioned forecasts are based on the statements/data released by government officials and authorities, it would be good to wait for the final verdict on the fitment that the GST council and government will release for a wide range of supplies and services. Nevertheless, with the enablement of anti-profiteering and other counteractive measures, GST is expected to check costs for most.