Parliament Monsoon Session: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the list of items on which GST is levied at Rajya Sabha

Debjit Mukherjee: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday elaborately spoke about the list of items on which GST is levied at Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

According to the finance minister, GST tax is only on banks purchasing cheque books from printers. She said there is GST on customer cheques and on the withdrawal of cash from banks. Further, she said that there is no GST on loose food items. “The 5% tax is only on pre-packed and labelled items”.

“All states at the GST Council agreed to the proposal to levy 5% GST on pre-packed, labelled food items; not one person who spoke against it,” Sitharaman added. She also reiterated that there is no GST on crematoriums or mortuaries. However, if someone wants to open a new crematorium GST will be imposed. “No GST on crematorium; tax only on construction of new crematorium,” Sitharaman replied to debate on price rise in Rajya Sabha. She further added that hospital bed or ICU, tax only on room with ₹5,000 per day rent have been exempted from GST.

She also stressed that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong.