GST 2.0: Bidis escapes ‘the evil board, netizens turn it into a meme festival
The 56th session of the GST Commission paved the way for a simplified tax regime, with only two main boards – 5% and 18% – specifically 40% dedicated to “sin goods” and super-luxury items.
Since September 22, this marks a major overhaul after the cancellation of the compensation tax and retains the overall tax rate under the consolidated GST framework. However, the reform brought a strange twist: Bidis was not placed in 40% brackets, and “tentu” also found himself at just 5%.
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What has the “Sin” tablet dropped below 40%?
Top mounts are suitable for products deemed to be harmful to health or society, from alcohol, tobacco, panmasala and guteka to inflatable sugary drinks, caffeine-containing beverages, large SUVs, racing cars, yachts, yachts, private jets, casinos, casinos, betting and lottery.
In fact, these people were taxed at a 28% tax earlier, bringing the burden close to 40%. Now the Council combines them into a single 40% tablet.
But Bidis is not in 40% brackets
This is where the new GST structure causes eyebrows. While the tax rate for cigarettes and Pan Masala is 40%, Bidis is far from the highest tablets. Instead, the current rate is:
Bidis: Reduced from 28% to 18%
Baidi wrapping leaf (Tendu): from 18% to 5%
The possible reasons behind this exemption are seen as an attempt to maintain the domestic Baidi industry, which employs more than 7 million workers in rural India.
Please read also: GST 2.0: Will cheap cement under PM Modi’s “Diwali Gift” make homes more affordable?
Photographed by netizens: From high-end Bidis to gen-z woes
Bidis’s tax breaks on slapping luxury goods and cigarettes (40%) triggered a meme festival.
One user wrote: “GST on BIDIS has dropped from 28% to 18%. ITC soon launched Branded Bidis. Next: Premium Bidis in Gold Foil, paired with Artisanal Chai.”
Another commented: “They added the GST of Bidis to cigars and cigarettes. The rich won’t stop buying cigars, the poor will smoke more Bidis. What’s the logic?”
One user jabs in Gen gen and said: “People say 4 GST plates are reduced to 2 flat plates. Meanwhile, General Z realizes that their favorite things (stings, stings and sutta) are expensive.
A witty summary says: “Equal action – everyone suffers lung damage at different prices.”
