Banking Awareness 2017 - All About Goods and Services Tax

The Current Affairs section for Bank Exams like IBPS PO, SBI PO is a part of the General Knowledge Syllabus. Due to vast topics, the candidates find it hard to score well in this section. The candidate should stay up to date with the current affairs and read the newspaper on a frequent basis to crack this section in competitive exams. Here we talk about the current General Knowledge topic “GST Bill”

The Goods and Services Tax is a new system proposing all the indirect taxation of India and merging it all into a single system of taxation. It was introduced by The Constitution Act 2016. This GST would be a comprehensive indirect tax on sale, manufacture and consumption of goods and services throughout India, to replace taxes levied by the central and state governments. GST was finally introduced in the country after a long journey of 13 years since it was first discussed in the report of Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxes.

Taxes at the Central and State Level that have been subsumed:

Central level:

●      Central Excise Duty

●      Additional Excise Duty

●      Service Tax

●      Additional Customs Duty is commonly known as Countervailing Duty

●      Special Additional Duty of Customs

State level:

●      Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax

●      Entertainment Tax, Central Sales Tax

●      Octroi and Entry tax

●      Purchase Tax

●      Luxury Tax

●      Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling

The GST Council on 3 November 2016 approved four tier tax structures 5, 12, 18 and 28 percentage under the proposed Goods and Services Tax and one No Tax slab.

No tax slab:

1.     Milk, buttermilk and curd

2.     Meat, eggs, chicken, fish

3.     Fresh fruits, Honey, Vegetables

4.     Bread, Flour, Salt, Besan

5.     Sindoor, Bindi

6.     Judicial paper, Newspaper, Stamps, Printed books

7.     Handloom, Bangles

5% tax slab:

1.   Fish fillet

2.   Skimmed milk powder, cream, branded paneer

3.   Frozen Vegetables

4.   Tea, Spices, Pizza bread, Coffee, Rusk

5.   Coal, Kerosene, Medicines, Lifeboat, Stent

12% tax slab:

1.     Frozen meat products

2.     Cheese, Ghee, Butter

3.     Dry fruits in packaged form

4.     Sausage, Animal fat, Fruit juices

5.     Namkeen Snacks

6.     Tooth Powder, Ayurvedic medicines, Incense sticks

7.     Picture Books, Colouring Books, Umbrella

8.     Sewing machine, Cell phones

18% tax slab:

1.     Pasta, cornflakes, cakes and pastries

2.     Sauces, Preserved vegetables, Jams

3.     Soups, Ice cream, Instant food mixes

4.     Mineral Water

5.     Tissues, Tampons, Envelopes, Notebooks

6.     Printed circuit boards, Steel products

7.     Speakers, Camera and Monitors

28% tax slab:

1.     Chewing gum

2.     Chocolate devoid of cocoa

3.     Pan masala, Paint, aerated water

4.     Deodorants, after shave and shaving creams

5.     Dye, hair shampoo, sunscreen

6.     Wallpaper, ceramic tiles

The aforementioned information helps the candidates in their preparation for the current affairs section in bank exams. The candidates should go through news portals and the IBPS guide to get more information about the pattern and syllabus of the exam. The aspirants can also visit the Study Material For Competitive Exam to learn more tips and strategies to crack the upcoming bank exams. For a better understanding of topics, these aspirants can also subscribe to our Study Material For Competitive Exam