New Delhi [India], September 4 (ANI): Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the trust of states, which made the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) possible.

Chaudhary added that the government is now introducing new reforms to simplify the system for the people.

Speaking to ANI, Pankaj Chaudhary said, 'The process of implementing GST was going on before Prime Minister Modi came to power. But somewhere, due to a lack of trust of all the states in the Government of India, things were not working out. After PM Modi came to power, we won the trust of our states across the country and implemented GST and also ran it very efficiently for 8 years.'

'Prime Minister said that now, since a new generation reform is to be done, we were exercising for about a year regarding GST and under that exercise, it came out that work should be done to make it easier and provide convenience to the common people,' Chaudhary said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a sweeping reduction in GST, aimed at providing relief to households, farmers, businesses and the healthcare sector.

The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.

5% slab consists of essential goods and services, including food and kitchen item like butter, ghee, cheese, dairy spreads, pre-packaged namkeens, bhujia, mixtures, and utensils; agricultural equipment like drip irrigation systems, sprinklers, bio-pesticides, micronutrients, soil preparation machines, harvesting tools, tractors, and tractor tires; handicrafts and small industries like sewing machines and their parts and health and wellness like medical equipment and diagnostic kits.

While the 18% slab consists of a standard rate for most goods and services, including automobiles such as small cars and motorcycles (up to 350cc), consumer goods like electronic items, household goods, and some professional services, a uniform 18% rate applies to all auto parts.

Additionally, there is also a 40% slab for luxury and sin goods, including tobacco and pan Masala, products like cigarettes, bidis, and aerated sugary beverages and on luxury vehicles, high-end motorcycles above 350cc, yachts, and helicopters.

Moreover, some essential services and educational items are fully exempted from GST, including individual health, family floater and life insurance, no GST on health and life insurance premiums and education and healthcare, like certain services related to education and healthcare are GST-exempt. (ANI)