New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- The GST Council has approved a set of sweeping reforms that bring direct relief to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders, with lower rates on labour-intensive goods, correction of inverted duty structures, and cheaper inputs for agriculture and manufacturing.
Key changes include a sharp reduction of GST on handicrafts, intermediate leather goods, and marble and granite blocks from 12% to 5%.
These sectors, dominated by small workshops and clusters, are among the largest employers in semi-urban and rural belts.
The relief is expected to support order books, protect shop-floor jobs, and stabilise margins.
The long-pending inverted duty structure in textiles has also been addressed, with GST o...