Household items get 4% VAT

A number of household items and industrial inputs in Delhi will be taxed at 4 per cent from Wednesday instead of 12.5 per cent earlier. Spare parts and accessories of manually operated or animal driven agricultural implements will now be exempted from value added tax.

The Delhi government on Monday notified a list of items that would be now taxed at 4 per cent or would be exempted from VAT. At a meeting on July 13, the state Cabinet had given its go-ahead for this rate cut.

Apart from accessories of manually operated agricultural implements, the other items which have been exempted include leaf plates and cups, papad and vadi and paper waste.

Accessories of agricultural implements not operated manually, will now attract 4 per cent tax, compared to 12.5 per cent earlier. Other industrial inputs added into the 4 per cent category include additives, salts, stippers, passivations, intermediates and other chemicals used in various types of electroplating like, nickel, zinc, copper, satin nickel, chrome brass, silver, gold and aluminium.

Industrial perfumes and concentrates have also been included in this category.

All textile fabrics and made-ups, not covered by any other entry of any Schedules in the Act would also be taxed at 4 per cent. This comes in the wake of traders evading tax by showing textile made-ups as textiles, which has zero VAT.

Household plastic items such as combs, jugs, soap cases, mugs, looking glasses and photo frames, lunch boxes, bottles, trays, baskets, mats, storage containers including basins, tubs and drums of capacity up to 100 litres will now be taxed at 4 per cent.

Other household items that would also attract 4 per cent include fittings for doors, windows and furniture, nails, screws, chains of all kind, wood, timber, ply board etc.