SRINAGAR: As the new GST Council recommendations started getting implemented today, certain items have gone costlier.
Now consumers will have to pay five per cent GST on pre-packed, labelled food items like four, paneer and curd, besides hospital rooms having 24-hour rent above Rs 5,000.
Other items that will get costly are hotel rooms with tariffs of up to Rs 1,000 for 24 hours, maps and charts, including atlases. These will see a GST of 12 per cent.
Another category that will now attract a GST of 18 per cent includes tetra packs and fees charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form).
A host of items that earlier fell within the 12 per cent slab have moved to 18 per cent. These include printing, writing or drawing ink; knives with cutting blades, paper knives and pencil sharpeners; LED lamps; drawing and marking out instruments.
Solar water heaters were earlier attracting five per cent GST and now they will have to pay 12 per cent.
Certain services earlier falling within 12 per cent will now see 18 per cent GST demand. These include work contracts for roads, bridges, railways, metro, effluent treatment plants and crematoriums.
Renting of the truck, goods carriage where the cost of fuel is included have been put in 12 per cent slab after pulling them out of the 18 per cent group.
Bio-medical waste treatment facilities shall attract 12 per cent GST, while non-ICU hospital rooms exceeding Rs 5,000/day will be levied 5 per cent GST, without the input tax credit, to the extent of the amount charged for the room. Electric vehicles, whether or not fitted with a battery pack, would be eligible for the concessional GST rate of 5 per cent.
