GST Council gift to kids lends positive outlook for Navneet, S Chand

NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council at its 16th meeting announced gifts for children by exempting colouring drawing book from GST and the reducing the proposed tax on school bags from 28 per cent earlier to 18 per cent.

GST Council had earlier proposed 12 per cent tax on children’s picture and colouring drawing books.

Cheering the development, shares of Navneet Education and S Chand and Company were trading in green in early trade. Navneet Education was trading 1.05 per cent up at Rs 192 around 9.35 am (IST). The scrip opened at Rs 192 and touched a high and low of Rs 193.05 and Rs 190.55, respectively, in trade so far. Benchmark BSE Sensex was down 97.40 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 31,165.

S Chand and Company was up 1.57 per cent at Rs 572.10. Shares of the company opened at Rs 561 and touched a high and low of Rs 574.65 and Rs 561, respectively.

Within weeks of the all-powerful GST Council fitting over 1,200 items into one of the 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent tax slabs, there were complaints from various quarters about high tax incidence on various goods and services.

The GST Council, which met on Sunday, took up demands for revision in tax rates of 133 items but reduced it only for 66, including agarbatti, computer printers, cashews, children drawing books and school bags.

The government aims to roll out GST from July 1 and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the GST Council has completed discussion on most of the issues.