Luxury cars and SUVs which had become cheaper with the rollout of GST, are all set to get costlier as the GST Council mulls hiking the cess from 15% to 25%. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated that GST Council in its 20th meeting held on August 5 considered the issue of raising cess after total tax incidence on motor vehicles has come down since the rollout of GST. According to reports, the decision and timeline for implementation of higher cess will be taken up at the Council’s meeting in Hyderabad scheduled for 9 September. The hike in cess on luxury sedans and SUVs could come as a blow for car manufacturers which had cut prices to pass on the benefits to buyers after GST implementation.
