Now pay 12% tax on hotel rooms below Rs 1,000 per day, 5% GST on hospital rooms above Rs 5,000

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Tuesday decided to remove a host of tax exemptions and hike rates for an even larger number of mass-consumption items.

It approved a proposal to impose a 12 percent tax on hotel rooms costing below Rs 1,000 per day. So far, only hotels above the threshold were charged 12 percent GST. The Council also agreed to levy a 5 percent GST without input tax credit on hospital rooms with rent above Rs 5,000, excluding intensive care units (ICUs).

The two-day GST Council meeting, which began on Tuesday (June 28) in Chandigarh, is being chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting is also being attended by the finance ministers of states and Union territories and senior officers from the union government and states.