Ever since the 47th GST Council announced changes in GST rates and addition of new services under the regime, a lot of false claims have gone viral on social media. These false claims ranged from imposition of GST on residential rent to the usage of public toilets and even cremating the dead.
These latest changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime were made in June and have taken effect on July 18. The changes have faced flak, as they deal with everyday consumer goods such as pre-packaged and pre-labelled food items and on hospital bills.
The false claims regarding several changes in the GST rates also forced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to clarify the government's stand in her speech on August 1 during the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament.
In the latest such clarification, the government had to clarify that no charges would be imposed on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions; a popular form of payment for everyday cashless and instant transactions carried out through smartphone apps.
Social media went abuzz with speculation that UPI too would be subject to charges (including claims about GST), after the Reserve Bank of India released a policy paper on charges in payment systems was misinterpreted on social media, leading to the government to issue a clarification.
UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for...
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