GST Council Meeting: The 56th meeting of GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council will be held in Delhi from 3 September. The two -day meeting will end on 4 September. The proposed changes in the GST system are expected to be approved during the meeting. The meeting will consider the recommendations of the Group of Ministers constituted on GST on rationalizing GST rates, composition cess, health and life insurance premiums.
The meeting will start at 11 am and it will be chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The final decision in cases related to GST takes the GST Council. The council consists of finance ministers of all states and union territories as members.
The government is preparing to limit the GST rates from the existing 4 slabs to only 2 slabs till Diwali this year. The central government has proposed 5 percent and 18 percent 2 rates under the revised GST system, that is, the slabs of 12 percent and 28 percent will end. Also, a special rate of 40 percent is proposed on luxury things and harmful things. GST rate cuts are said to be cheaper by everyday things.
PM Modi announced a change in GST on August 15
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the morning of August 15, had announced the implementation of GST reform of the next generation till Diwali. It was said that this will be a Diwali gift for citizens. Currently, zero percent GST is imposed on the essential food items. GST is charged 5 percent on everyday use, 12 percent on standard items and 18 percent on electronics products and services. Luxury and Sin Goods have 28 percent GST. Some things have also been applied to composition cess. The composition cess system ends on March 31, 2026.
Government sources say that 99 percent of the goods included in GST’s current 12 percent tax slab will be put into a 5 percent slab in the revised GST system. Similarly, about 90 percent of the things coming in the category of 28 percent rate will be put in the revised GST system of 18 percent in the tax slab.