The all-powerful GST Council will meet on June 28-29 in Srinagar, where it is expected that the report of state ministers on tax rate rationalisation will be taken up among other agenda.
“The 47th meeting of the GST Council will be held on June 28-29, 2022 (Tuesday & Wednesday) in Srinagar,” the finance minister’s office tweeted.
Ahead of the GST Council meeting, the panel of state ministers on GST rate rationalisation is scheduled to meet on June 17 to discuss possible tweaking in tax rates, PTI reported citing sources.
This is the second time that the GST Council meeting is being held in Srinagar. Before the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017, the 14th meeting of the Council was held on May 18-19 in the city.
The upcoming GST Council meeting will be 47th and it assumes significance as it is expected to discuss the report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation and also the tax rate on casinos, race courses and online gaming.
The GST Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts, is also expected to discuss certain simplifications in procedures.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) is likely to discuss possible changes in tax slabs, PTI report said citing sources, adding that the final report of the panel would take some more time.
The Council had last year set up a seven-member panel of state ministers, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, to suggest ways to augment revenue by rationalising tax rates. The Group of Ministers (GoM) had last met in November 2021.
The GoM has been mandated to review items under inverted duty structure to help minimise refund payout, and review the GST exempt list with an objective to expand the tax base and eliminate breaking of input tax credit (ITC) chain.
Under GST, a four-tier structure exempts or imposes a low tax rate of 5 per cent on essential items and levies the top rate of 28 per cent on cars and demerit goods. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent.
Besides, a cess is imposed on the highest slab of 28 per cent on luxury, demerit and sin goods.
The Council will also consider a report of the panel of ministers on applicability of GST on casinos, race courses and online gaming.
The group of state ministers unanimously decided on hiking the tax rate on these services to 28 per cent, besides working out a method of valuing these services for the purpose of levying this tax. Currently, casinos, horse racing and online gaming services attract 18 per cent GST.
The Council may also consider some modification in summary return and monthly tax payment form GSTR-3B with a view to check fake input tax credit claims and expedite settlement of genuine ones.
