Jaitley launches app to help users verify GST rates

 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched a mobile app 'GST Rates Finder' to help any person who has purchased a footwear or has been billed by a hotel to cross verify the correctness of the rate of GST charged.

"This mobile app helps users to find rates of GST for various goods and services. It can be downloaded on any smart phone and can work in offline mode, once downloaded. The user can determine the GST rate for a good or a service by entering the name or chapter heading of the commodity or service," the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. 

The app, which is now available on android platform, will soon be available on iOS platform too.

The search result will list all the goods and services containing the name which was typed in the search box. The user can scroll down the list of description and when any specific item on the list is clicked, the display window will pop-up, containing details such as GST rate, description of goods or services and the chapter heading of the Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN). 

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has also provided a GST rate finder on its portal cbec-gst.gov.in to help the taxpayers know the applicable GST rate on their supplies of goods and services. 

A taxpayer can search for applicable Central GST, State GST, Union Territory GST rate and Compensation Cess on a supply. The search can be made based on description of goods or services or HSN chapter or section or heading number.

"These are aimed to serve as a ready reckoner on GST rates. This will empower not only the taxpayers, but every citizen of the nation, to ascertain the correct GST rate on goods and services," it said.