India’s Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Council is set to convene its 53rd meeting on June 22nd, 2024, in New Delhi. This will be the first such meeting since Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third term and reappointed Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister.
The agenda for the meeting is still being finalised, but it is expected to address key economic issues and set the groundwork for the government’s priorities in its third term.
The previous meeting, held in October 2023, saw measures like reduced GST on packaged millet flour and tax exemptions for specific public services. GST collections for May 2024 reached Rs 1.73 lakh crore, reflecting a 10% annual increase but falling short of April’s record high.
Notably, this meeting precedes the first session of the newly elected Parliament, making it a crucial platform to lay out the government’s economic vision for the coming years.
The upcoming Budget also gives the meeting more importance than usual.
The agenda for the meeting remains under covers, but it’s widely anticipated to address a range of pressing economic concerns.
The decisions reached by the GST Council are likely to shape India’s economic growth in the coming years.
Of particular concern is the lapse in convening meetings since the last held on October 7, 2023. This departure from the prescribed timeline becomes evident as regulations dictate a meeting should have occurred in January 2024.
In a press conference, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra announced that the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Council will evaluate the decision to impose a 28 percent GST on the full face value of online gaming after March 31. The review is anticipated to take place in the upcoming GST Council meeting, likely scheduled later this month.
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Malhotra clarified that a review does not necessarily imply a change in rates but is intended to assess the current scenario and determine if any adjustments are required. The GST Council had previously revised the tax rate on online gaming from 18 percent to 28 percent on full face value, effective October 1, 2023.
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