The GST Council is scheduled to meet on June 12 and likely to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tax revenues, sources said. The 40th meeting of the GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, will be held via video conferencing.
The all-powerful GST Council on Friday more than doubled the tax on caffeinated beverages to 40 per cent and slashed the rate on hotel room tariffs. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the panel, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the GST on caffeinated beverages has been hiked to 28 per cent plus an additional cess of 12 per cent as against the current rate of 18 per cent.
Items likely to see a tax cut include luxury hotels and outdoor catering services. Luxury hotels which charge Rs 7,500 and above per night are now taxed at 28 per cent and outdoor catering services at 18 per cent.
Aadhaar user alert: The authentication or physical verification of the unique identification number (Aadhaar) has been made mandatory for new dealers to curb malpractices in paying Goods and Services Tax. According to reports, the GST Network on Saturday decided to make Aadhaar authentication or physical verification mandatory for new dealers from January 2020 to check malpractices in Goods and Services Tax.
The all-powerful GST Council will at its Goa meeting next week consider demands for reducing taxes on products ranging from cars to biscuits keeping in mind the revenue position as any cut will have a direct impact on earnings of states, a senior government official has said.
GST Council meet concluded on Saturday with a decision to reduce GST rates on electric vehicles and charges. The GST Council has decided to reduce GST rate on electrical vehicles from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. The council has also approved an exemption from GST on hiring of electric buses by the local authorities.
The agenda of the meeting will also include integration of GST e-way bill system with NHAI's FASTag mechanism from April 1, 2020, to help track movement of goods and check GST evasion.
The new GST rates will be effective from 1st January 2019
The council also decided to exempt sanitary napkins from the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax, or the GST.
The council has exempted various products including sanitary napkins, deities made of stone, marbles and woods, commemorative coins circulated by the RBI or the government, fortified milk etc from the GST.
GST Council today approved rate changes of 29 goods and 53 categories of services. The revised rates will be applicable from January 25, the finance minister said.
The all-powerful council pruned the list of items attracting the top 28 per cent tax rate to just 50 from 227 previously, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi told reporters.
Prices of 80 per cent items under the highest slab of 28 per cent under GST are likely to be brought in the 18 per cent tax bracket.
The GST Council is also set to consider steps to ease the compliance burden for traders and businesses. A ministerial panel has pitched for extending the quarterly filing of returns facility to all taxpayers.
Top News
Latest News
