Before Diwali, there has been great relief for the common man, farmers and small traders. The GST Council has taken several important decisions on Wednesday, which will make insurance, medicines, daily goods and vehicles cheap.
According to the press release of the Finance Ministry, now all life insurance policies – wide term life, ULIPs or endowment – will not be attached to GST. Similarly, all health insurance policies, family floater and senior citizens have also been exempted from GST. This means that insurance will now be cheaper and coverage will increase.
Many things have been reduced to many things to use the common man. GST has been reduced from 18 or 12 percent to 5 percent on household items such as hair oil, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, bicycle, tableware and kitchenware. Milk (UHT), cheese and all Indian breads like roti, paratha etc. will no longer be GST. At the same time, GST has been reduced from 12 or 18 percent to 5 percent on things like Namkeen, Bhujia, Sauce, Pasta, Noodles, Chocolate, Coffee, Butter and Ghee.
Trains and electronics have also been given major relief. GST has been reduced from 28 to 18 percent on air conditioners, 32 -inch TV, dishwasher, small cars and 350 cc motorcycles. The same new rate will be applicable to buses, trucks and ambulances. Three vehicles and all auto parts will now have a similar rate of 18 percent.
There is also good news for farmers. GST on tractor and farming machines has been reduced from 12 to 5 percent. GST has also been reduced from 18 to 5 percent on sulfuric acid, nitric acid and ammonia used in fertilizer sector.
Important relief has also been given in the health sector. 33 Life -saving medicines will no longer have any GST. GST has been reduced from 5 percent to zero on three important medicines of cancer and rare diseases. All other drugs will now have only 5 percent GST. The rate on medical and surgical devices has also been reduced to 5 percent. This includes vading gauze, straps, diagnostic kits, blood sugar monitoring systems and many other equipment.
The GST Council has also solved the long -standing problem of the textile field. GST has been reduced from 18 to 5 percent on man -made fibers and 12 on man -made thread to 5 percent.
The council has also recommended that the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) start accepting the appeal before the end of September and the hearing begins by the end of December 2025. The new GST rates on services will be applicable from September 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that these comprehensive reforms will improve the lives of citizens and it will be easy for small traders and businessmen to do business. He wrote on X that on Independence Day, the next generation of improvement was announced in GST and now the Center and the states have agreed to it. These reforms will benefit the common man, farmer, MSME, middle class, women and youth.