New Delhi. Before Diwali, the Modi government can give another big gift to crores of people in the country. The GST Council meeting to be held on 20 October is being considered very important this time. It is being speculated that in this meeting, the council can abolish the 12 percent GST slab. Many such essential goods come under this slab, which has a great impact on the pocket of the common man. If this happens, then the prices of houses, shoes, clothes, and mobiles will be greatly affected.

Sources say that a decision can be taken to abolish the 12% GST slab in the Group of Ministers meeting to be held on October 20. However, it is not yet clear at what rate GST will be levied on the products falling under this slab. If the 12% items are reduced to a 5% slab, then certainly the common man will get a lot of relief, but if these items are put in a higher slab like 18%, then obviously their prices will also increase.

Talking about the 12% GST slab, it includes packaged food items, clothes, and shoes worth less than Rs 1000, commercial property, mobile, butter, ghee, butter, fruit juice, umbrella, packaged coconut water, etc. Apart from this, some items of
computers and dry fruits have also been kept in this GST slab.

Why is the slab being abolished?
The GST Council says that due to the reduction in the number of items in the 12% slab, the share of this slab in the total GST collection is very low. The Group of Ministers has stated in its report that
the 12% slab has only a 5% share in GST collection. The 18% slab has the highest share in GST, which is close to 73%. The 28% slab has a share of 12.5%, while the 5% slab has a share of 8%.

Which items are included in 18%?
Most of the items are included in the 18% slab of GST. It includes products like consumer electronics, restaurants, smartphones, telecom services, clothes and shoes worth more than 1000, IT services, and financial services like insurance, beauty products, and machinery. This is the reason that three-fourths of the total GST collection comes through this slab.