Kerala Imposes Flood Cess In Addition To GST, A First In India

A year after the worst floods in almost a Century, Kerala has become the first state to impose an additional cess. Starting August 1, Kerala will be implementing 1 per cent Flood Cess, apart from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), with the aim to generate funds for rebuilding the state.

Government's proposal comes at a time when the auto industry has been witnessing decline in sales and automakers are demanding reduction in GST rates to uplift sales.

It also slashed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on EV chargers from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, an official statement said after the 36th meeting of the council.

The centres demanded the finance minister to either scrap the 18 per cent GST on coaching education or reduce it to the lowest GST slab, said Lalit Maheshwari, an official at Allen Career Institute, Kota.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has voiced confidence that India will achieve economic growth of 8 per cent plus from fiscal year 2020-21 onwards as structural reforms like the GST are set to produce the benefits.

The auto industry has been going through a slump in volumes since the past eight months and sales continue to remain disappointing as we move into the ninth month of this de-growth. Luxury carmakers have been equally affected by the slowdown and manufacturers collectively asked for relief in the GST rates that might work as a short in the arm for the Indian auto indus...

Auto experts say that if sales continue to drop further, the industry may a face problem to sustain margins, given the advent of emission and safety norms which require automakers to hike prices. SIAM also says that further decline in sales would affect GST revenue collection as well.

Homegrown EV manufacturer Ather Energy has commenced its operations in Chennai, its second market after Bengaluru. The company held its first customer event last weekend in the city, and has also begun accepting pre-bookings for its electric scooters for a token amount of Rs. 5000. The Ather 450 is priced at Rs. 1.31 lakh, while the entry-level Ather 340 is priced at ...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not announce any relief for vehicles running on diesel and petrol in the Union Budget 2019. But a temporary reduction in GST rates is the need of the hour to boost auto industry sales says Mahindra & Mahindra - Managing Director, Dr. Pawan Goenka. Speaking to journalists post the Union Budget 2019 announcement on Friday, Dr. Goe...

The NDA 2.0 government made some major announcements for pushing electric mobility in India as part of the Union Budget 2019. While the Indian auto sector did not witness any dramatic changes in tax norms, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recommended reducing the GST rate on electric vehicles from the current 12 per cent to five per cent in a bid to push the sale o...

Budget 2019: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman detailed a number of proposals in the budget to boost e-mobility, Indian space programme, startups and Make in India initiative as the government looks to turn the country into a $5 trillion (3,42,65,500 crores) economy by 2024-2025.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) processes were being further simplified while adding that businesses with less than Rs 5 crore annual turnover will need to file quarterly GST return.

The electric vehicle segment in the Indian auto sector has welcomed the announcements to give tax incentives on loans for EVs, as well as GST reduction on electric vehicles.

The government has offered exemption of income tax worth Rs. 1.5 lakh on loans taken for buying electric vehicles.