Based on September 2025 reforms, India has restructured its Goods and Services Tax (GST) to a 3-slab system (5%, 18%, 40%), removing the 12% and 28% rates to simplify the structure, with most items falling into lower brackets. While luxury/sin goods may see higher rates (40%), many items become cheaper.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) 2.0 reform, which came into effect from September 22nd, 2025, brought relief for the common people and boosts for businesses. One of the key GST updates under 2.0 reform is that it simplified the GST tax structure from a 4-slab (5%, 12%, 18% and 28%) to a 3-slab (5%, 18% and 40%).
Good news is, Starting July 2025, the HST/GST credit has increase by 2.7%, helping low- and modest-income households stretch their budgets.
The GST reforms in India are have been rolled out since 22nd September 2025 through central tax notifications, as stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre's GST reform now have a simplified two-slab structure of 5% and 18%, and a special 40% slab for sin and luxury goods.
For any standard-rated supplies of goods or services that you make on or after 1 Jan 2024, you must charge GST at 9%. For instance, if you issue an invoice and receive payments for your supply on or after 1 Jan 2024, you must account for GST at 9%.
New GST Rate of 9% in 2024
Come 1 Jan 2024, the GST rate will be raised from 8% to 9%, as part of the two-step GST rate change announced by the Minister for Finance in Budget 2022. The first step from 7% to 8% had taken place earlier on 1 Jan 2023.
The GST Council's latest reforms have reshaped the GST tax slab for the travel and hospitality sector. With international and domestic travel steadily rising, these changes will directly affect how much you spend on air tickets, hotel bookings, dining, and even luxury travel.
Maximum marginal rate is the highest rate of tax at any income level. This means for those with incomes between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, 39% will be the highest applicable tax rate, and for those with incomes above Rs 5 crore, it will be 42.74% — the highest tax rate since 1992.
The Government: A Boost in Revenue
From a government standpoint, GST has been a resounding success in terms of revenue generation and increase in tax base. The number of Taxpayers is increasing from year to year and the same thing can be said about the collection of GST.
India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) system has entered a new era with the rollout of GST 2.0, effective from September 22, 2025. The Council has simplified the structure into a 5% slab for essentials, 18% for standard goods, and 40% for luxury/sin items, replacing the earlier complex categories.
Subtracting GST from Price
To calculate how much GST was included in the price, divide the total price by 11 ($1000∕11=$90.91). To calculate the price without GST, divide the price by 1.1 ($1000∕1.1=$909.09).
Canada will implement a faster GST rebate payment system starting January 5, 2026. Eligible individuals and families can receive up to $680 more quickly, reducing previous delays. The new system streamlines income verification and tax processing to speed up payments. and modest-income Canadians.
Latest GST News
Under the revised structure, GST now follows a simplified three-tier rate system: 5% for essential goods and services (merit rate) 18% as the new standard rate for the majority of goods and services. 40% for luxury and "sin" goods, such as high-end vehicles and select tobacco products.
Payment amounts are recalculated every July
For example, the information from your 2024 tax return determines the GST/HST credit amount you get for the payment period from July 2025 to June 2026. You could get up to: $533 if you are a single individual. $698 if you are married or have a common-law partner.
Total Net GST revenue for October 2025 stands at ₹1,69,002 crore, which is 0.6% higher(monthly growth) and 7.1% higher (yearly growth) than the corresponding period last year at ₹1,68,054 crore.
Significance of GST
Consumers have benefited from lower average tax rates and reduced costs on essential items, while the logistics sector has seen enhanced efficiency, reduced transport times, and significant investments.
The government reasoned that it was done to keep the reform revenue-neutral, protect essentials for low-income households, and align new rates with the pre-GST tax burden on each product (the 'fitment' exercise). This approach was a compromise in a federal system and sought to avoid a sharp spike in inflation.
On 15 August 2025, the Prime Minister publicly announced his government's intention to rationalise GST rate slabs in anticipation of Diwali. Thereafter, the new rates, comprising two primary rates of 5% and 18%, were announced, and, on 22 September 2025, the reforms officially came into effect across India.
According to government reports, while over 7 crore people file tax returns, only a fraction of them actually pay taxes because many fall below the taxable income threshold or use deductions to reduce liability.
Examples of income that are not taxable in India include agricultural income, gifts and inheritances, interest on EPF and PPF, scholarships and awards, life insurance proceeds, leave encashment, gratuity, Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG), and interest on tax-free bonds.
“At a salary of one crore, the average tax rate is 29.26% in the New Regime, compared to 32% in the Old Regime. As the salary increases, the average tax rate in both regimes also increases, reaching 38.42% in the New Regime and 42.46% in the Old Regime for ₹10 crore income,” the CEO of Tax2win added.
Singapore: Increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 8% to 9% It was announced in Singapore's Budget in February 2022, that there would be a two-stage GST rate increase. The first stage was implemented in January 2023 from 7% to 8%, The second stage, a change from 8% to 9% will be implemented on 1 January 2024.
GST refund can be claimed by registered taxpayers as well as the unregistered taxpayers like international tourists can claim a tax refund while leaving the country.
Hungary has the highest tax rate at 27 per cent, while Canada has the lowest tax rate at 5 per cent. All four Asian countries have a tax rate below the OECD average of 19.2 per cent.