JSA in
News

In a historic move, the Union government has slashed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates for 33 cancer drugs and rare medicines — from 12 to zero per cent. The decision taken by the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday, rationalised the indirect tax structure, cutting the current four slabs down to two — scrapping the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates, while retaining the 5 per cent and 18 per cent slabs. Read more

For millions of Indian households, everyday necessities—like toothpaste, soaps, shampoo, feeding bottles, and snacks—often stretch already tight monthly budgets. The recent GST cuts promise small but meaningful relief. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who chaired the 56th Goods and Services Tax (GST) meeting that cleared the much-anticipated GST reform, called it a “Diwali gift” for citizens. Effective September 22, the GST structure will now comprise only two primary slabs—5% and 18%, replacing the earlier four-tier system. Read Article

New rates are expected to be implemented from September 22. Some states’ demand to be compensated for the revenue loss owing to the rate cut was not approved. As endorsed by a Group of Ministers and fine-turned by the Committee of Centre and State officials, the Centre’s proposal to reduce the 4 basic slabs (5, 12, 18 and 28%) to two (5 and 18%) was deliberated upon by the GST Council. Read Article

Real-estate firms have welcomed the Goods and Services Tax Council’s reforms, expecting better affordability for buyers, spurring demand, while lower input costs are likely to support developers and enhance project viability. The council has reduced the rate on cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while the rate on sand lime bricks or stone-inlay work and granite blocks has been reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent. Read Article

India’s simplified two-tier Goods and Services Tax (GST) system is going to be implemented from September 22. So, a few weeks before the country’s important festive season, e-commerce companies have started redesigning their strategies. According to industry executives, online retailers expect a pick-up in demand, but at the same time they will also have to deal with short-term operational challenges. Read Article

India’s simplified two-tier Goods and Services Tax (GST) system is going to be implemented from September 22. So, a few weeks before the country’s important festive season, e-commerce companies have started redesigning their strategies. According to industry executives, online retailers expect a pick-up in demand, but at the same time they will also have to deal with short-term operational challenges. Read Article

In a major revamp to our existing GST rate structure, the GST council headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has exempted the taxes from health and insurance products, which earlier stood at 18 per cent. Read Article

India’s greenfield development agenda defines its sustainable economic growth path. As part of its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, India aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, ensure 50% of its power capacity is non-fossil fuel-based, and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through forest and tree cover. Read Article

India’s trade landscape has been transformed to improve the ease of doing business, boost exports, reduce tax evasion and align with global standards. The government is simplifying procedures, promoting digitisation and modernising regulations. The goods and services tax (GST) has been one of the most significant economic initiatives. Replacing many central and state taxes, the GST is a simpler unified tax structure with four rate categories, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Proposals put forward will eliminate the 12% slab, making compliance even easier. Read Article

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced major Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms spanning across sectors aimed at easing the tax burden on consumers, while also rationalising the GST rates from the previous four slabs to a simplified two-tier structure of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, with another flat 40 per cent rate. This is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of major GST overhaul, which he made during his Independence Day speech. While most sectors, including agriculture, food, handicraft, insurance, and healthcare, stand to benefit significantly, some sectors such as luxury and sin goods, are staring at higher rates. Read Article

The real estate industry has hailed the GST Council’s landmark decision to rationalise tax rates on cement (from 28% to 18%) and other construction materials like sand and bricks (from 12% to 5%), among others. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman-led GST Council’s measures announced for the real estate sector are aimed at providing benefits to the affordable and mid-income segments, which have seen major slowdown in the past few quarters. Read Article

Global insurers such as Generali and Ageas, which have already raised their stakes in Indian ventures to the maximum 74% allowed for foreigners, stand to gain from draft amendments to insurance laws that propose scrapping key curbs. The changes, which were proposed as draft on August 29 and are to be tabled in Parliament, ease conditions imposed in 2021 when the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap was lifted from 49% to 74%. At the time, insurers with foreign shareholding above 49% and a solvency margin below 180% were required to retain half their net profits in reserves before declaring dividends. In addition, half of their boards had to comprise independent directors, or one-third if the chairman was independent. Read Article