Amidst workshops and seminars for traders and businessmen, consumers have been offered little clarity on how the GST (Goods and Services Tax) will impact their every day purchases. With just hours left for the new tax slabs to kick in, effectively meaning a change in the prices of day-to-day commodities, there are more questions doing the rounds than answers.
Here are a few guidelines:
All products are under four slabs. Know which slab your product falls under.
Ask questions the first couple of days.
Study the bill on every purchase you make.
If the price of a product has reduced, know and ask about it.
The most-asked question however, is 'What will be the impact of GST on eating out?'
The next time you eat out, the food on your plate is going to fetch you a new kind of bill.
''Consumers will have to look out for different bills in different kinds of restaurants. “Those eating at budget hotels will be charged only 12% GST, and no service tax. This is an 8% increase from the old slab. Those eating in AC restaurants will have to shell out 18% as tax. But, small and roadside eateries, whose business does not cross over ₹20,000 a day, will have only 5% tax,'' says Chandrashekhar Hebbar, president, Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association
What this will translate into is migration of consumers to smaller eateries. “For example, with 5% tax, the price of a plate of idli-vada will rise from ₹40 to ₹42,” he said.
- Also Read
What is GST and how will it affect you? All your questions answered
The GST impact: What will be cheaper, which ones are going to be expensive?
