GST rates: Ola, Uber rides and movie-going to be cheaper | Check the list

The GST Council finalised four tax rates of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% on services including telecom, insurance, hotels and restaurants under the biggest tax reform since independence.

India fixed four categories of taxes for services such as transport, entertainment and banking services on Friday, taking a step closer to meeting a July 1 deadline for the rollout of the country’s biggest tax reform.

The government has unveiled four rate bands under a new sales tax for services such as telecoms, insurance, restaurants and cinemas. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT Photo)

Eating out at small restaurants and dhabas, hiring a cab or staying in a non-5 star hotel will be cheaper under the new Goods and Services Tax regime. Education, health and public transport will be exempt.

The decisions came at the end of a two-day meeting of the GST Council headed by Union finance Arun Jaitley and which also includes his counterparts from states. The council has already fixed GST rates for household items and manufactured goods.

SERVICES	GST RATES	LOWER OR HIGHER
Education	0%	No change
Health	0%	No change
TRANSPORT
Cabs like Ola, Uber	5%	Lower
Metro, local train	0%	No change
Non-AC train	0%	No change
AC train	5%	Lower
Air economy class	5%	Lower
Air business class	12%	Higher
ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE
Cinema	28%	Lower
EATERIES
Dhabas (With annual sales under Rs 50 lakh)	5%	Lower
Non-AC restaurant	12%	Lower
AC restaurants, bars	18%	Lower
5-star hotels	28%	Higher
HOTELS WITH TARIFF
Up to Rs 1,000/day	0%	Lower
Rs 1,000-2,000/day	12%	Lower
Rs 2,000-5,000/day	18%	Higher
Above Rs 5,000/day	28%	Higher
TELECOM	18%	Higher
FINANCIAL SERVICES	18%	Higher