No real gain for end‐user

Recent cuts in GST rates on several items like sanitary napkins, TV-sets, refrigerators etc are practically infructuous for several reasons, separately for each commodity. Sanitary napkins will be cheaper only by a negligible 1-2 per cent, that too only if manufacturers do not violate provisions of the anti-profiteering law by absorbing the relief-part in ex-factory price. With the provision of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on manufacturing sanitary napkins and GST on items used in their manufacture remaining the same, effective relief will be just about 2 per cent rather than 12 per cent.

GST should be simplified at root-level by having ITC provisions only for trading and abolishing it same for the manufacture and

service sectors. Extraordinary relief by doing away with the ITC provision can be used to have just two new GST slabs -- 10 and 30 per cent, apart from some higher multiples of 50 per cent to do away with confusing cess. There is utter confusion about reduction of the GST slab on items like refrigerators and TV sets. There are reports that such relief by bringing down GST from 28 per cent to 18 per cent is only for outdated direct-cool refrigerators and not on commonly purchased frost-free refrigerators. Likewise, GST relief is said to be only on TV sets with up to 24” screens, which have a very poor market. There are also reports that manufacturers of such items are planning to raise ex-factory price to deny benefits to consumers. Strict enforcement of the antiprofiteering law can prevent such anticonsumer tactics. —Subhash Chandra Agrawal