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Retention Of Cement In 28% GST Slab Unfortunate: Cement Manufacturers’ Association
Retention of cement in the 28% GST bracket, along with luxury items, quite unfortunate: manufacturers body.
11 Nov 2017, 11:37 AM IST 
A worker carries a sack of cement from a truck in a warehouse. (Photographer: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg)
The Cement Manufacturers' Association expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the product from the 200 items on which the GST Council slashed the tax rate to 18 percent from 28 percent.
The retention of cement in the 28 percent GST bracket, along with luxury items such as washing machines and air conditioners, is quite unfortunate, President Shailendra Chouksey said.
This is a disappointment for the entire industry as cement is integral to the government’s key schemes such as Housing for All, Swachh Bharat-related construction and building of other key infrastructure projects.Shailendra Chouksey, President, Cement Manufacturers’ Association
In the biggest GST rejig yet, tax rates on over 200 items, ranging from chewing gum to chocolates, to beauty products, wigs and wrist watches, were cut to provide relief to consumers and businesses amid economic slowdown.
The top tax rate of 28 percent is now restricted to luxury and demerit goods, including cement.