GST Council caps cess on demerit goods at 15 pc

NEW DELHI: A maximum of 15 per cent cess on top of the peak GST rate of 28 per cent will be levied on luxury goods and aerated drinks after the GST Council today approved a cap on cess along with supporting legislations.

The actual cess on demerit goods, which will help create a corpus for compensating states for any loss of revenue from GST implementation in the first five years, may be lower than the cap as the Council has kept a “little” headroom for future exigencies, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

Giving an example, he said if a luxury car at present commands a total tax of 40 per cent, under the new indirect tax regime, a GST of 28 per cent plus 12 per cent cess would be levied to keep the tax incidence at the same level.

The 15 per cent cess cap would apply on luxury cars and aerated drinks. On pan masala, the cess has been capped at 135 per cent ad valorem. (AGENCIES)

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