GST Council keeps ACs in 28% tax slab, durable firms disappointed

Durable companies were left disappointed on Saturday with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which met to decide on rate rationalisation of key items, keeping air conditioners in the highest tax slab. The buzz prior to the meet was that air conditioners would be shifted from 28 per cent to 18 per cent in line with appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators, which had already been moved to a lower tax slab six months ago.
 
In July, a clutch of items from hair dryers to shavers, mixer grinders, vacuum cleaners, lithium ion batteries, and freezers, apart from