No, govt has not reduced GST on electronic items: Here’s what’s happening 

India’s new indirect tax regime, GST, completed six years of its implementation on June 30 this year. To commemorate this occasion, the Ministry of Finance shared a tweet highlighting the reduced tax burden on the citizens after the introduction of GST. Tweet compared pre-GST and post-GST tax burden to show the effectiveness of GST.   

However, the table in the tweet was widely misinterpreted and the rates in the pre-GST and post-GST columns were reported as the old GST and new GST rates, which is factually incorrect.  

The government has not made any announcement regarding any changes in the GST rates currently. GST Council is the apex body that decides on the GST rates, rules and policies in India. The Council meets periodically to review and revise the GST matters. The last GST Council meeting was held on December 17, 2022, where a few GST rate rationalisation matters were taken up, but none was related to GST rates on electronics items.  

For the unversed, GST was implemented in India on July 1, 2017. It replaced the existing multiple indirect taxes levied by the central and state governments, such as excise duty, service tax, VAT, and more.  

Before the introduction of GST in India, TVs with a screen size of 27 inches or less were charged 31.3 percent in taxes but post-GST consumers pay only 18 percent in taxes in the form of GST. 

With reduced taxes, #GST brings happiness to every home: Relief through #GST on household appliances and mobile phones 👇#6YearsofGST #TaxReforms #GSTforGrowth pic.twitter.com/6qbdaERpzp

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) June 30, 2023

Similarly, earlier, consumers needed to pay 31.3 percent in various direct and indirect taxes while buying a mobile phone. This tax burden was reduced to 12 percent after the introduction of GTS. 

Home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines, as well as fans, coolers, geysers, have also become cheaper since the introduction of GST. Since the introduction of GST, the tax burden on these items has been reduced from 31.3 percent to 18 percent in the post-GST era, which totals up to a tax reduction of up to 12 percent.  

Meanwhile, the government GST collection in the month of May 2023 was Rs 1,57,090 crore, which was 12 percent higher than the GST collection in the same month last year. The GST collection for May 2023 included ₹28,411 crore collected towards CGST, Rs 35,828 crore towards SGST, and Rs 81,363 crore towards IGST (including Rs 41,772 crore collected on import of goods). 

The state-wise break-up of GST collections in May 2023 showed that Maharashtra posted the highest GST collection in absolute terms at Rs 23,536 crore. Other states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also showed high GST collections. The GST collections for May 2023 were attributed to the improved economic activity and the increased compliance by taxpayer. 

Disclaimer: This story has been updated to reflect that the details shared by the Ministry of Finance indicate a change in tax levied on various electronic items in the GST era versus the pre-GST era.