A viral graphic circulating on WhatsApp is misinterpreting a poster put out by the Ministry of Finance to state that the rates of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on certain items would be significantly slashed.
The poster was put out by the government through the Ministry of Finance on June 30 to commemorate six years of the introduction of GST, which took place on July 1, 2017. It shows the rates of taxes on certain electronic items and LPG cylinders, which is a common household fuel, before the regime was introduced compared to the taxes under it.
This is being misconstrued as a reduction of the rates of GST applicable to these items. BOOM found that certain tax rates like 31.3%, 21% and 15% have never been part of the GST regime since its introduction. Further, the same comparison has been made before by the government to show how the tax rates on several goods have reduced under the GST regime compared to what they were before the introduction of GST.
The graphic can be seen below. It shows a comparison of higher rates vs lower, with the header "GST before" and "GST now" respectively written in Hindi. It credits the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for these changes. BOOM received this message on its helpline (7700906588).
Several news outlets, such as CNN News-18, ABP News and Jagran have also reported the story, misinterpreting the graphic.
CNN News-18's news report can be seen below and an archived link found here.
Jagran's reporting can be seen below and an archived link found here.
ABP News' reporting can be seen below and the archive found here.
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FactCheck
The comparison made by the government to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the introduction of the GST regime can be seen below. This comparison has been misinterpreted by the media outlets mentioned above to conclude that the GST rates on these items have been reduced.
However, this is not the first time this comparison has been shared by the government for these same commodities. These previous comparisons make it clear that it is one of before and after the GST regime's introduction, and not a reduction in the GST rates itself.
First, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman herself verbally made these comparisons in a speech on July 1 this year, which is 'GST Day'. Her comments can be seen below.
"On many common use items, tax under GST has been lower compared to pre-GST tax rates", the Twitter thread and her comments state.
On August 2, 2022, she has also made the same comments in a speech to Rajya Sabha.
"I am saying this [GST not increasing tax burdens on families] because the rates on some of the items before GST were far higher, and let me list out some of them", she said. "washing machine, which has now become a common household thing, everybody wants some model or the other, 31.3 per cent pre-GST and now it is 18 per cent under GST; vacuum cleaners, 31.3 per cent pre-GST and now it is 18 per cent under GST; televisions up to the sizes of 32 inches, 31.3 per cent pre-GST and now it is 18 per cent under GST; LPG stove 21 per cent pre-GST and now it is 18 per cent under GST; LED lamps, which Piyush ji as Minister propagated that people should have LED lamps in their houses, 15 per cent under pre-GST and now it is 12 per cent under GST; kerosene pressure lantern, which we use in emergency in poor households which till today have not received electricity, 8 per cent pre-GST and now it is 5 per cent under GST", her comments state.
Her comments can be found on page 158 of the document below, which is the verbatim debate from Rajya Sabha on August 2, 2022.
Further, this same comparison was tweeted out previously by the Ministry of Finance in August 2020.
Several rates of GST as claimed do not exist
Since the introduction of GST, there have been five basic GST slabs: 0% or nil rate, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
This can be found with the GST Council here.
Certain precious metals and jewelry have a GST rate of 3%.
Flat GST rates applicable to those falling under the GST Composition Scheme are 2% for manufacturers, 5% for restaurant owners and 1% for traders.
Also Read: 5 Things You Need To Know About The GST Composition Scheme
The claims suggest that the alleged GST rates before its reduction was 31.3%, 15% and 21% on certain items, which were never the tax slabs under the GST regime to begin with.