Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation today at 5 pm, hours before the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates come into effect. The Prime Minister is likely to speak on the new GST regime and how it would benefit the common man.
The government has removed the 12% and 28% GST slabs and turned the 4-slab structure to a 2-slab regime. In the revamped structure, there will be only two slabs, i.e. – 5% and 18%. There is another 40% GST slab that will be applicable on sin goods and several high-end vehicles.
However, there is no official communication on the subject of his address in the evening. The address also comes on the eve of Navratri.
New GST rates kick in tomorrow
The revised GST rates will come into effect from Monday (September 22) with most of the household items getting cheaper. The announcement was first made by the Prime Minister during his independence day speech. He had called the rejig a Diwali gift for the citizens.
Under the new rates, prices of kitchen staples to electronics, from medicines and equipment to automobiles, will get cheaper from Monday as the reduced GST rates on about 375 items come into effect. The GST council earlier decided to reduce tax rates on goods and services, from September 22 — the first day of the Navaratri.
Items which are consumed by masses like ghee, paneer, butter, ‘namkeen’, ketchup, jam, dry fruits, coffee and ice creams, and aspirational goods like TV, AC, washing machines will become cheaper. According to the government, almost 99 per cent of goods under the 12 per cent GST slab currently will move to 5 per cent and 90 per cent items under 28 per cent tax slab will come down to 18 per cent bracket.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last week said that the GST reforms will add Rs 2 lakh crore into the economy, leaving people with more cash in hand that otherwise would have gone as taxes.
Will revamped GST beat Trump’s tariffs?
PM Modi has repeatedly urged the people to consider buying from local vendors to supports the dream of a self-reliant India. In every speech, especially after the announcement of the new GST rates, the PM has emphasised on the need to become ‘Aatmanirbhar’. He hailed the GST reforms during his recent programmes in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Kolkata, Bihar and most recently in Gujarat.
He said India’s biggest enemy is “dependence on other countries”, which was apparently a veiled reference to the H-1B visa fee hike by the US government and the ongoing tariff tensions between the two democracies.
The Prime Minister is likely to address the nation on these lines.