GST kicks in: Education to movies, find out if services got cheaper

Mumbai: On the midnight of June 30, India began its tryst with the historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) – an indirect tax reform that will transform the way we sell and consume goods and services.

GST will consolidate under its four-tiered tax structure, a host of other levies to hopefully provide the nation with ‘one tax’. It is being hailed as the 'biggest tax reform since Independence by luminaries and experts. 

As consumers, we avail various services in our day to day lives – from railways to hotels, from learning various cultural activities to flying by air. Since GST will subsume taxes like service tax, VAT, some cesses, there will be a marked difference in the way we will avail these services.

Let’s take a look at the GST rates on a few important services:

Health and Education

In a relief to the common man, health and education have been exempted from the four-tiered GST structure.

Transport

Flying by economy class is likely to get cheaper as will Ola/Uber or other cab services. Business class tickets will probably see a hike in prices as it is is placed in the higher 12 per cent slab. Local trains and metro trains have been exempted from GST slab to promote public transports.

Hotels and restaurants

If you are looking for a cheap stay at hotel rooms priced below Rs 1000, you are likely to pay lesser than you would have in the previous tax regime. Smaller hotels will therefore reap this benefit while bigger hotels with luxury rooms and services will attract 28 per cent GST.

Eating and drinking at AC, Non-AC restaurants have also gotten cheaper.

Telecom

Your phone bills are likely to see a drop in charges.  Telecom services have been clipped at 18 per cent GST, which is cheaper than the existing 15 per cent rate.

Entertainment and Leisure

Movie tickets just got cheaper with tickets priced below Rs 100 attracting 18 per cent GST. Overall also, movie tickets in multiplexes will be cheaper than the existing 40 per cent rate in many cities.

Other services

Other services like getting advertising spaces, learning cultural activities and assigning work contracts have also gotten cheaper.