Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the GST rate cut benefits have been passed on to the consumers across the categories. In a joint press conference in New Delhi, the finance minister said that the govt has been monitoring 54 products, ranging from shampoo and electronics to tractors, since September 22, for the GST cuts’ impact and found that the GST rate cut benefits have been passed on to consumers on all 54 products.
Sitharaman said that the GST cuts the benefits have been passed on to the products ranging from milk and electronics to cement and passenger cars. Additionally, the finance minister said the rate reduction has increased customer purchases.
Further, Sitharaman said that after the GST rate revisions, consumers have received much higher benefits than the GST cuts themselves.
Consumption boost
Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, said that the GST revision has given a boost of confidence to the industry, economy, market and people of the country. The Minister added that the reduction of GST on common goods a boosted consumption growth.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India has recorded a significant consumption growth this year. The Minister said that the consumption has grown by 10 per cent this year. He added that an additional Rs 20 lakh crore has been spent by the consumers this year.
Vaishnaw added that this year, the food inflation in the country has declined by 2 per cent.
Electronics sales growth
Vaishnaw said that there has been unprecedented electronics sales growth during the Navratri season due to GST rate cuts. He said that during the Navratri season, after the GST rates implementation, the electronics sales in India grew by 20-25 per cent YoY.
Vaishnaw added that the electronic manufacturing in India has seen a double-digit growth in the last year. He added that this year India has surpassed China in exporting a higher number of mobile phones to the United States.