In a big move, the Central government finally exempted the tax on sanitary pads. The GST i.e. Good and Services Tax which was implemented on ladies’ menstrual hygiene necessity in faced a lot of criticism since last year 2017. It was taxed at 12 percent but now it has been brought to zero. This decision is highly appreciated across the country. In fact, the people who are on cloud nine after this iconic decision are Bollywood celebs Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna.
One of those days when a news brings tears of joy as a cause close to ur heart gets fulfilled.Thank you, #GSTCouncil,for understanding the need for menstrual hygiene & exempting sanitary pads from tax. I’m sure crores of women in our country are silently sending gratitude ur way
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 21, 2018
When I raised questions about why there was GST on sanitary pads I had a large number of people barking at me-Glad to see positive results finally #PadManTalks https://t.co/zJqhxGhIx3
— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) July 21, 2018
Every voice makes a difference-it all adds up eventually #PadManTalks https://t.co/JwKZrsOoZw
— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) July 21, 2018
Twinkle Khanna, formerly actress and now writer-producer had condemned the GST on sanitary napkins. She also produced movie on this sensitive subject ‘Padman’. The movie talks about taboo topic of menstrual hygiene in India. In fact, it caused to debate across the country making people talk about it more freely. Apart from this husband-wife duo, many campaigners hailed this decision.
12% GST was imposed on sanitary napkins since the time GST was launched in India. There was protest over the decision as sanitary napkin is a need, not a luxury then why GST has been imposed on it. A petition was also filed on removal of GST. In fact, an online petition had gathered more than 4 lac signatures.
Interim Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal on GST
He said that various important decisions were taken in 28th meeting of the GST Council including 100 percent exemption on sanitary pads. He also said, “I am sure all mothers and sisters will be very happy to hear that sanitary pads are now 100 percent exempt from tax.”
GST on other products
In the recent council, GST has been reduced on almost 50 items. On items like ACs, phone batteries, vacuum cleaners, television, washing machines and refrigerators etc, GST has been slashed from 28 to 18 percent. GST has been reduced to 5 percent on ethanol (used in automobiles) and ebooks. There is also reduction on handicrafts.
