Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday chaired the meet of the GST Council. GST Council which consists of Union Finance Minister and Finance Minister of all States and Union Territories, makes decisions on various aspects of GST, including tax rates, exemptions and administrative procedures. The council plays a crucial role in shaping the GST framework.
Today’s meeting was first such gathering of the GST Council after Sitharaman assumed her role of the Finance Minister of India for the second consecutive term in Modi 3.0.
Today’s GST Council meeting is being held after a gap of eight months. The 52nd GST Council meeting took place on October 7, 2023. The GST regime has five broad tax slabs of zero, 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent. A cess is levied over and above the highest 28 per cent rate on luxury and demerit goods.
The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Chief Ministers of Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, State Finance Ministers and other Ministers, and Senior Officers from the States and Union Territories (with Legislature) and the Union Government
The previous GST Council meeting was held on October 7, 2023. It was presided over by Finance Minister Sitharaman and attended by Finance MoS Pankaj Chaudhary, the Revenue Secretary, Chairman CBIC, Member CM, Member GST, Member TP, and senior officers from the Union Government and States. In its October meeting, the GST Council decided to impose a 28 per cent levy on online gaming, casinos, and horse racing. Later in the March GST meeting, the council postponed the review of the 28 per cent levy imposed on the proceeds from online gaming.
Source #ET Now