The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is scheduled to hold a two-day meeting to discuss the revisions of tax slabs. This meeting comes as the Centre nears the deadline for implementing the next-generation reforms under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime by early October.
Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava, who is the ex-officio secretary of the Council, issued a notice last month regarding the meeting, and also alerted that the meeting of officers’ of states and Centre will be held a day before the 56th meeting of the GST Council.
When is the GST Council meeting?
As per the notice issued by the Revenue Secretary, the two-day meeting of the GST Council is set to take place on September 3 and 4.
The meeting of state and Centre officers regarding the same will be held on Tuesday, September 2.
The Council’s meeting comes after chief ministers, finance ministers and other ministers from states had come to the Capital to participate in the meetings of the Groups of Ministers (GoMs) in the last week of August.
The FM Sitharaman-led GST Council meeting will have representatives from all states and Union Territories in order to discuss the reduction of taxes on common use items, as well as public welfare services.
The GST Council meet comes over two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, announced the next big phase of reforms in GST regime by Diwali this year as a gift for the common man.
Story continues below this ad
The Centre has suggested replacing multiple slabs – 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent – with a broad two-slab structure – 5 per cent and 18 per cent – in addition to a 40 per cent special rate for sin and demerit goods.
Two key concerns have been raised by the states regarding the reduction of GST on basic commodities – an alternative to recover the loss of revenue after the tax drop, and whether the benefits from GST rate cuts will percolate to the ultimate beneficiary, which is the common man.
It is likely that these concerns will be raised by the states during the GST Council meeting tomorrow.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
.