Indian and global manufacturers of fashion and lifestyle products have asked department store chains to pass on the benefits obtained from GST. The chains stand to save about 2 per cent due to the switchover to GST. Retailers have paid 15 per cent service tax on premises they rented out commercially since 2010. With GST implemented from July 1, a range of indirect taxes levied by the Centre and state governments, including service tax and value-added tax, have been subsumed into one levy. Rentals account for about 10 per cent to 15 per cent of a retailer’s costs.

With the introduction of GST, the tax on rental can be set off against input tax credits available for other goods and services. A certain margin is given when they buy goods from us, says the chief executive of a global brand. Everybody is pushing it hard. He says Shoppers Stop alone stands to save between Rs 30-50 crored a year.