GST impact: Sale of world famous Jaipuri quilts to take a hit

Jaipur: Goods and Services Tax (GST) that came into effect from July 1 will cast a negative impact on the sale of world famous quilts from Jaipur.

GST applicable on Jaipuri quilts is up to 28 percent. It will increase the cost of production, causing the prices to go up, manufacturers and traders said. Until now, the Jaipuri quilts enjoyed zero percent tax for quilts costing up to Rs 750. Traders are also complaining of complexities in the GST slabs.

Office bearers of the association of quilt traders said that the item either had been completely free from any taxation or had zero percent tax rate up to Rs 750.

Now, Jaipur quilts have been brought under different ‘harmonized system of nomenclature (HSN)’ tax codes.

“Traders are confused as to which code of GST they should use for business,” said an office-bearer.

He added that cotton, quilts and covers are in different GST code categories and understanding them is a big headache.

Cotton quilts are in HSN – 9404, drawing a tax slab of 18%. Twenty-eight percent GST is applicable to fiber quilts. Covers are in HSN – 6301 code. For a cover priced up to Rs 1000, the tax rate is 5% and it is 12% for covers priced higher.

“It is very confusing. Most traders are not so savvy with taxation jargons. They don’t know which slab is applicable to their business. Many traders sell cotton and fiber quilts as well as covers. They will a hard time applying different tax codes when selling different items,” he added.