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GST Council may refer the issue of GST rates on cigarettes, bidis to the Rate Rationalisation Committee to notify maximum tax rate of 20% under CGST and 20% under SGST from the current 28%, sources told Business Today on Tuesday.
The upcoming GST Council meeting scheduled for June 22 has sparked considerable interest in the market. Many are hopeful that significant changes may be announced, especially given its timing just before the Budget. Experts anticipate a review of the GST slabs, with discussions centered around potentially reducing the number of slabs from four to three.
The online gaming sector, which pays 28 percent as goods and services tax (GST) on the full face value involved, will have to wait longer for relief.
The GST Council is likely to consider a proposal to give relief to sectors such as textiles, fertilizers, leather, etc. that face difficulty due to the Inverted Duty Structure (IDS).
The meeting is critical as it’s expected to address several issues including review of GST rates on online gaming, bringing petroleum products, electricity, and real estate under GST, besides considering rate rationalisation.
Ahead of the GST Council’s meeting on June 22, legal experts who spoke with Moneycontrol said that certain key issues such as rate rationalisation may be pushed to the back burner while issues such as placing checks and balances on the powers of tax officers may come back to focus.
The council could also consider an amnesty scheme for disputes of the pre-GST regime and a proposal to make biometric-based Aadhaar authentication mandatory for suspicious persons seeking GST registration.
After a pause of more than two-months in policy making due to the national polls, Central and state governments are set to meet again for major policy decisions.
GST Council will meet here on June 22, with a packed agenda, including proposals to bring natural gas and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) under the ambit of the GST, and a review of the way the tax on consumption is applied on online gaming, casinos and horse racing.
The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet after a gap of eight months on June 22, and is likely to review the implementation of 28% GST on the online gaming sector. The 53rd meeting of the GST Council will be held on 22.06.2024 at New Delhi,” the GST Council Secretariat said n a post on X.