New GST rates: Here's what will get cheaper; see full list of items

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

In a major tax reform, the GST Council on Wednesday agreed to cut GST slabs to two: 5% and 18%. The existing 12% and 28% will be eliminated, effectively reducing the prices of several items.

In a late evening media briefing, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that this is not just GST rate rationalisation but a "structural reform" which will ease compliance. She added that rates of most common use items have come down.

The changes in GST rates of all goods, except pan masala, gutkha, cigarettes, chewing tobacco products like zarda, unmanufactured tobacco and bidi, will be implemented with effect from September 22.

Here's the full exhaustive list of items along with their new GST rates:

The GST Council announced sweeping rate cuts for common-use items ranging from packaged and branded food items like fruit juices, butter, cheese, condensed milk, pasta, packaged coconut water, soya milk drinks, nuts, dates and sausages, and medical items including medical grade oxygen, gauze, bandages, diagnostic kits (5 per cent from 12 per cent) to nil GST rate for ultra-high temperature milk, chhena or paneer, pizza bread and khakra, plain chapati or roti and education item of erasers from 5 per cent at present.

GST 2.0: Tax cuts to fuel India's clean energy sector as rates on parts slashed to 5%

GST 2.0 unveiled: Two-slab structure cleared, new rates will come into effect September 22