The goods and services tax (GST) which is slated to be rolled out on July 1, 2017, has decided the tax rates of about 1,211 items until now. The rate ranges from nil to 28 percent. Most of the items are charged below 18 percent slab rate. The tax also has a major positive influence on the household budget list as prices are likely to drop.

There will be no tax on daily consumption goods like fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, honey, bread, milk, besan, prasad, salt etc. Also the daily or frequently use goods are tax-free like bindi, sindoor, bangles, newspapers, stamps, printed books, judicial papers etc.

Goods under 5 percent slab are coffee, tea, branded paneer, cream, skimmed milk powder, kerosene, sugar, spices, frozen vegetables, medicines, pizza bread, semolina, rusk, stents, lifeboats etc.

Products attracting 12 percent tax rate are packaged dry fruits, frozen meat products, ghee, cheese, butter, incense sticks, ayurvedic medicines, picture books, cell phones, fruit juices, namkeen etc.

Those in 18 percent slab rate are instant food mixes, mineral water, camera, speakers and other hardware products, notebooks, envelopes, tissues, cakes and pastries, cornflakes, preserved vegetables, ready to eats, jams, sauces, soups and ice creams and so on.

Items in 28 percent slab rate are chocolates without cocoa, wafers coated with chocolate, aerated water, cosmetics like hair shampoos, sunscreens, deodorants, shaving creams, after shave etc., water heaters, ceramic tiles, paints, wallpapers, machines like washing machines, dishwasher, ATMs, vacuum cleaner; automobiles like luxury cars with 15 percent cess, small petrol cars with 1 percent cess and small diesel cars with 3 percent cess; private jets, yachts etc.

28 percent is the highest slab of tax rate levied on goods.