The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate for textile machinery has been decided at 18 per cent by the GST Council at its two-day meeting, scheduled to conclude today in Srinagar. The Council has broadly approved the GST rates for goods at nil rate and 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent to be levied on certain goods. Rates for textiles and footwear are yet to be decided. As per the information uploaded after the GST Council’s decision on the website of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the rate of 18 per cent has been decided for the following textile machinery mentioned along with their 4-digit HS code:
8444 - Machines for extruding, drawing, texturing or cutting man-made textile materials
8445 - Machines for preparing textile fibres; spinning, doubling or twisting machines and other machinery for producing textile yarns; textile reeling or winding (including weft-winding) machines and machines for preparing textile yarns for use on the machines of heading 8446 or 8447
8446 - Weaving machines (looms)
8447 - Knitting machines, stitchbonding machines and machines for making gimped yarn, tulle, lace, embroidery, trimmings, braid or net and machines for tufting
8448 - Auxiliary machinery for use with machines of heading 84.44, 84.45, 84.46 or 84.47 (for example, dobbies, Jacquards, automatic stop motions, shuttle changing mechanisms); parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of this heading or of heading 8444, 8445,8446 or 8447 (for example, spindles and spindles flyers, card clothing, combs, extruding nipples, shuttles, healds and heald frames, hosiery needles)
8449 - Machinery for the manufacture or finishing of felt or nonwovens in the piece or in shapes, including machinery for making felt hats; blocks for making hats
8451 - Machinery (other than machines of heading 8450) for washing, cleaning, wringing, drying, ironing, pressing (including fusing presses), bleaching, dyeing, dressing, finishing, coating or impregnating textile yarns, fabrics or made up textile articles and machines for applying the paste to the base fabric or other support used in the manufacture of floor covering such as linoleum; machines for reeling, unreeling, folding, cutting or pinking textile fabrics
9024 - Machines and appliances for testing the hardness, strength, compressibility, elasticity or other mechanical properties of textiles. "As per the announced GST rate, there is no drastic difference in the existing purchase and sales of machineries. Earlier also, the rate for machinery was 12.5 per cent with 5 per cent VAT which totaled to 17.5 per cent. With 18 per cent GST on machinery, there is neither loss nor gain. However, it is too early to say anything as we are yet to have the rates for services and textiles," CB Chandrashekar, CFO, Lakshmi Machine Works Limited, told Fibre2Fashion. Home textile products wholly made of quilted textile materials will attract 12 per cent tax under the new tax regime.
Source: Fibre2fashion