Bengaluru: What should have been cause for joy for traders and retailers — especially during the festive season, their busiest time of the year — is instead triggering worry as the decision to lower goods and services tax (GST) has led to a slump in sales across several sectors.Traders say the period between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day revelation of a rate rationalisation and implementation of the rejig has resulted in “undeclared zero business”, with customers putting off purchases until Sept 22 when the new rates officially kick in.
GST Rate and Slab Changes in September 2025
The new GST regime, GST 2.0, intends to simplify the tax structure by decreasing the slabs and changing rates. Significant changes are announced at the 56th GST Council meeting lowering the price of necessary goods, decreasing insurance premiums, and shift high-consumption goods into lower tax brackets. GST rate cuts on 200 items will happen from 22nd September 2025. 90% of items in the current 28% slab are moved to the 18% slab. Almost 99% of the items in the 12% slab are moved to the 5% slab.